Jaron Ennis and Jermaine Franklin shine in absence of Claressa Shields

Claressa Shields was the headliner of Showtime’s Oct. 5 card, but after the cancellation of her fight, Jaron Ennis and Jermaine Franklin starred.

Women’s boxing superstar Claressa Shields was supposed to have a homecoming in Flint, MI, on Saturday, Oct. 5, but a vicious assault canceled her scheduled title bout against Ivana Habazin. Showtime went ahead with their broadcast, and Jaron Ennis (24-0, 22 KOs) and Jermaine Franklin (20-0, 13 KOs) tried to fill the void.

Friday’s weigh-in between Shields and Habazin should have been routine, but Habazin’s trainer James Ali Bashir was sucker-punched in the back of the head by an assailant whose identity hasn’t been verified.

In a statement to Boxingscene.com, Habazin revealed that Bashir suffered facial fractures that required surgery. With the seriousness of the attack on Bashir, Shields’ bout with Habazin was scrapped.

Rather than cancel the entire broadcast, Showtime soldiered on with their coverage. Michigan heavyweight Jermaine Franklin and exciting young welterweight Jaron Ennis became the main attractions.

Original indications were that Shields vs. Habazin was going sell out the Dort Federal Event Center, but the diminished fight card was lightly intended. Most fans who were at the fight came in support of the local heavyweight Franklin, who easily outboxed Pavel Sour  (11-1,5 KOs) for a unanimous decision victory.

Franklin’s best punch was a left hook, which he landed on Sour’s head throughout the night. Sour absorbed a torrent of punishment throughout the 10-round bout, and he hit the canvas in rounds 6 and 10, but he managed to finish the fight.

The Flint, MI crowd roared with every hook that Franklin landed on Sour. They approved of Franklin’s efforts as he remained undefeated.

The final bout of Showtime’s televised show featured the rising welterweight prospect, Ennis, against Demian Fernandez. From the opening bell, it was clear that Fernandez was overmatched.

Ennis quickly disposed of Fernandez in three rounds. He switched between orthodox and southpaw stances with ease as he routinely trapped Fernandez on the ropes and connected with fast successions of hooks to the body and head.

In the round3, Ennis again caught Fernandez on the ropes and connected with an intense flurry of punches that made Fernandez wilt to the canvas. He got to his feet but complained to the referee about being thumbed in the eye. He didn’t want to continue, and the referee stopped the fight.

After the bout, Ennis discussed his performance.

“It feels good to be back in the spotlight and get another win,” Ennis said to Showtime. “I showed a little of my skills. I wanted to show more, but my dad said go get him and get him out of there, so that’s what I did.”

Ennis and Franklin impressed, but the absence of Shields and Habazin haunted the sparsely populated arena. It was an eerie reminder of Friday’s brutal assault outside of the ring that left a legendary trainer hospitalized.