Blair “The Flair” Cobbs made an unexpected appearance at the IBF welterweight titleholder Jaron “Boots” Ennis’ fight on Saturday night in Philadelphia. Cobbs may have been hoping to build interest in a showdown with Ennis, but Matchroom’s Eddie Hearn proposed a different match-up — Cobbs against Karen Chukhadzhian.
Ennis, a 27-year-old titleholder from Philadelphia, on Saturday scored a unanimous decision win over Chukhadzhian, in a rematch of their 2022 bout, at the Wells Fargo Center. Cobbs, who trains in Las Vegas after a nomadic journey, called himself “the most exciting man in boxing” and issued a challenge to Ennis, who holds a record of 33-0 (29 KOs).
Cobbs, who has ties to Philadelphia despite fighting out of Vegas, is coming off a unanimous decision victory over Adrien Broner in June, when he marked his return to the ring after a near-two-year hiatus, following his win over Maurice Hooker.
Hearn responded to Cobbs’ antics with praise but redirected him, saying: “One thing I will say is, I like you, Blair. I think you’re a very funny guy.” He then reiterated Ennis’ need to advance to “the next level of opponent” and pursue major names. Cobbs countered, insisting, “A major name is Blair the Flair.”
Hearn responded by offering Cobbs a fight with Chukhadzhian, 24-3 (13 KOs), the 28-year-old Ukrainian, who has twice lost to Ennis via unanimous decision. “I’ll put the fight on—you against Karen,” Hearn said.
Cobbs replied, “Did I not do enough?”, in regard to landing a fight with Ennis, to which Hearn firmly responded: “No, absolutely not.”