“Ennis beat a very difficult fighter.” Teddy Atlas on Jaron’s fights against Choukhadzhian and Spence

A popular martial arts columnist in the USA Teddy Atlas on the air of the latest episode of his podcast The FIGHT with Teddy Atlas
commented the fight for the title of “interim” IBF welterweight champion (up to 66.7 kg) between American prospect Jaron Ennis (30-0, 27 KOs) and Ukrainian Karen Chukhadzhyan (21-2, 11 KOs), which ended not in the way most expected – Ennis’ victory on points.

In addition, Atlas compared Jaron to unified US champion Errol Spence (28-0, 22 KOs) and spoke about their possible fight.

“Ennis would beat 90%, maybe even 95% of the welterweight division. He’s a nightmare because of style and ability. If he wasn’t so good, he would have lost to this guy. And he showed me things that you cannot see in all his brilliant victories over the past years. He showed me poise, he showed me character, he showed me patience, he showed me his mentality, understanding how he can pull himself together when part of him can easily go astray.”

“He wanted to look good, he wanted to knock out the opponent, he wanted to do things that everyone wanted. Perhaps he thought he would do it until he found himself in the ring. But he showed me defense with counterattacks, reflexes, timing, technique. All the things that I’ve partially seen in highlight cuts, but never to the extent, to the depth where all of these things should be. He had to be a strong guy in defense, in attack, be reasonable, be smart enough to calculate everything. Restraint – He did not lose patience. As Michael Jordan said, “You let the game get away from you.” He didn’t allow it. He stayed in the game, in combat, because he had a full set. Emotionally, mentally and technically, and in terms of talent.”

• “It wasn’t Ennis who was bad, it was Choukhadzhian who was very good.” Exclusive interview with Vyacheslav Senchenko

“So don’t get discouraged, don’t sell your Ennis shares. After all, the day after the fight there was a sale, when you could buy Ennis shares cheaper. They fell like Apple. Apple stock is expensive, and then something goes wrong. One bad phone came out and – boom, they will fall. They’ll go from $1,500 a share or whatever to maybe $800. If that happens to Ennis, I’m buying! Because I’ll say it again – he impressed me more in this fight than in all of his fights combined. He is real. And every great fighter, every top fighter has one of those on his resume. They have to. They need it, it’s part of the process, part of the journey. This is part of what will make you a better fighter. Make you win the world title. Will prepare you on all fronts when that chance comes. And now he’s more ready than ever. And now I’m ready to support him, because now I have answers that I didn’t have before, when he went through these guys like a hot knife through butter.

“I have answers now that I didn’t have before. I got them because he beat a very difficult fighter. For many components. I was very impressed. Fighting a guy like that is like putting together a 5,000-piece puzzle. I don’t know about you, but I’m lost after 20 bites. You understand what I mean. Give me a 20-piece puzzle – I can do it well. I’ll sit down with my grandchildren and I can fold it. But you come with those fucking 5 thousand parts – forget about me. And that’s what it’s like to fight a guy like that. It’s like putting together a puzzle with 5,000 pieces. And he found a way to do it. The picture wasn’t very pretty, but he folded it.”

• Ennis’ coach blamed Chukhajian for not knocking him out

“One more thing about Ennis. I like his personality. He is collected, he has a class. I mean, those who are connected with him – parents and everyone else – they are doing an amazing job with this guy.

“If he fights Spence, then Spence will be a slight favorite for me. Very small. Not the way people think. It’s almost an even fight. Obviously Spence has the advantage of being a champion, fighting better fighters, more proven. He’s on the highway when Ennis is on the bypass. Spence won the hearts of the people in these races, he was in the Indianapolis 500. It matters. He’s been there, he’s done it, he knows some answers when Ennis finds them. It gives Spence an edge.”