Karen Chukhadzhian audaciously packed his bags and made the long trek to the United States. After spending the entirety of his career competing overseas, Chukhadzhian (21-2, 11 KOs) knew good and well that if he wanted to truly accomplish his championship dreams, he would need to make gigantic waves stateside.

With the name Jaron Ennis sliding across his desk, the Ukrainian native quickly accepted the challenge. On January 7th, at the Capital One Arena in Washington D.C., Chukhadzhian employed a box-first game plan against the switch-hitting star. Although he managed to leave the ring relatively unscathed, the 26-year-old’s lack of offensive output led to his demise via wide unanimous decision.  

While the sting of defeat has left the Ukrainian contender despondent, he recently revealed that he’s ready to return to the drawing board to perfect his craft.

“We have a lot to do in the gym to correct our mistakes,” said Chukhadzhian to BoxingScene.com. “I hope next fight that I can not only defend but I want to show more attacks next fight. I want to prove to people that I can do more.”

As Chukhadzhian scours the welterweight landscape, he becomes painfully aware of the long and arduous road that he must embark on. Refusing to simply tuck his tail between his legs and fight lower-ranked contenders, Chukhadzhian has brazenly set his sights on a hard-hitting up-and-comer that has spent the last few years of his career terrorizing the welterweight division.

“It would be a big pleasure to fight Vergil Ortiz.”

Currently, despite his wishes, Ortiz (19-0, 19 KOs) seemingly has bigger fish to fry. After initially agreeing to take on Eimantas Stanionis on March 18th, the 24-year-old’s patience will now be tested. Through no fault of his own, Stanionis was forced to undergo emergency appendectomy surgery.

Presently, Golden Boy Promotions, the promotional banner in which Ortiz fights under, are sorting out new dates for their championship showdown. If the destructive knockout puncher manages to victimize Stanionis, Chukhadzhian admits that his interest level in facing Ortiz would undoubtedly increase.

By and large, the Dallas native has cataclysmically ended the night of all that have challenged him. And while Chukhadzhian acknowledges that facing Ortiz comes with unfathomable dangers, he makes it clear that he would love nothing more than to step right into the line of fire.

“It interests me. He has a nice punch, he knocks out everybody so it would be interesting to try him.”