By Rich “Lite It Up” Lopez

On the recent ESPN Top Rank card, the focus was on the headliner between Raymundo Beltran Vs Jose Pedraza. Both fighters produced a good action fight. My focus was also on the co-feature bout. It featured Ghana’s new boxing star Isaac Dogboe. So far, there is nothing about Dogboe to dislike. He is a short compact fighter with a lot of heart and possesses good punching power.

Isaac “Royal Storm” Dogboe 20-0, 14 KO’s, of Accra, Ghana, has made quite a splash this year in the junior featherweight division. In the beginning of the year, the 2012 Olympian was introduced on the Spanish network Bein Sports En Espanol, when he defeated the durable Cesar Juarez from Mexico. The fight with Juarez was a test for Dogboe and he passed it. He stopped Juarez in the 5th round in his hometown in Accra in front of his fellow fans. This then set up a fight between him and Jessie Magdaleno for the WBO World Super Bantamweight back in April. As the fight started, it seemed that Dogboe might have been exposed, as he walked into a right hand and was dropped in the 1st round. As a true warrior, he got up and went to war with Magdaleno. He ended up outslugging the undefeated Magdaleno and stopped him in the 11th round. By doing this, Dogboe became the World Champion and is one of the best fighters in the junior featherweight division. He also got big TV exposure as the fight was televised on ESPN and promoted by Top Rank. As a result of his performance, this led him to a three fight contract deal with Top Rank.

Dogboe wasted no time and made his first defense of his WBO title against former title challenger Hidenori Otake from Japan last weekend. Sure, Otake was a step lower in competition than Magdaleno, but it was how Dogboe took care of business. He wasted no time at the opening bell by exchanging hooks and uppercuts against the Japanese challenger. The taller Otake made it easier for Dogboe by exchanging with him. Dogboe was too much and stopped Otake in the first round. Dogboe hardly took any damage in the fight and continues to show he is a real threat to all the top junior featherweights in the division. It’s now possible that Dogboe might fight once again by the end of the year. He has looked impressive so far and remains an active fighter. Dogboe is also charismatic and in the post-fight interview, he called out the other champions in the division such as WBA Champion Daniel Roman and WBC Champion Rey Vargas. Both of those fighters are tall counterpunchers and will need to use all their skills against the shorter aggressive Dogboe. This is what all fighters should do to prove they are the best and that is call out all champions.

To sum it up, Dogboe has gone from unknown to a World Champion in less than a year. He can also be a candidate for fighter of the year. Dogboe is looking to become one of the greats from Ghana like the great Azumah Nelson. It’s too early to compare Dogboe to Nelson at this stage, but Dogboe definitely has the drive and will to become one of the best. Due to his all action style, I look forward to seeing him fight again.

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Select Packy “Boom Boom” Goldstein Donald "Braveheart" Stewart Vinny “Glory Days” Lucci Rich "Lite It Up" Lopez Anthony "Zute" George Seth Bramson Geoffrey Huchel Diane Batshaw-Eisman

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