I’ll return stronger – Isaac Dogboe
Dethroned WBO World super bantamweight, Isaac “Royal Storm” Dogboe, has admitted underrating Mexico’s Emanuel Navarrete ahead of their showdown at the Madison Square Gardens in New York last Saturday but has promised to come back stronger.
Dogboe, who suffered a maiden career loss in his professional career, described Navarrete as the better fighter on the night and praised the new champion for fighting like a true Mexican warrior.
The 24-year-old Ghanaian suffered a unanimous points defeat to Navarrete in a bout which saw the Mexican dominating for most parts on the night and snatching the crown in Dogboe’s second defence.
Speaking after his loss, Dogboe said: “It was a great fight, and Emanuel Navarrete fought like a true Mexican warrior, Champions are supposed to keep going under any circumstance, but I just couldn’t get the victory. The best man won tonight”.
“I had one of the bad preparations towards the fight and I think that also affected me in this bout but I am keen on coming back stronger in my next fight,” he added.
Navarrete, whose emphatic victory over Dogboe improved his professional record to 26 wins from 27 fights with 22 knockouts, managed a 116-112, 115-113 and 116-112 unanimous decision victory to snatch the Ghanaian’s crown.
The 23-year-old Mexican took advantage of his five-inch height reach to trouble Dogboe, who had to struggle in the final two rounds to avoid being knocked out.
Dogboe (20-1, 14 KOs) failed in the second defence of his WBO super bantamweight strap he won by knocking out Jessie Magdaleno in the 11th round April 28 in Philadelphia.
The Ghanaian successfully defended his title in his first attempt when he stopped Japan’s Hidenori Otake in the opening round on August 25 in Glendale, Arizona.
Navarrete disturbed Dogboe with his effective jabs, left hooks and overhand rights throughout the fight leaving him with a severely swollen left eye and bloodied nose.
The severity of Dogboe’s swollen eye led the ringside doctor to attend to him before the start of the 10th round.
Having started the fight on a good note, Dogboe and Navarrete landed clean shots in the opening four minutes before the Mexican gained the upper hand in the fifth round when he battered the defending champion onto the ropes during the closing stages of the round.
Dogboe’s best round came in the eighth minute when he landed Navarrete with two hard lefts to his body in the first minute and chased the Mexican to the other side of the ring and landed a right hand to his head.
The final four rounds proved vital in Navarrete’s victory when he chased Dogboe in an attempt to earn a stoppage win but the Ghanaian remained resilient in his bid to avoid being knocked out.
In a post-fight interview, Navarrete admitted that he fought through the pain barrier after injuring his right hand early in the fight but remained focused on the big prize.
“I injured my right hand early in the fight but I had the desire to be a champion and I did everything necessary to get the title. I am very happy and proud to achieve this goal of being the world champion”.
Source: Graphic.com.gh
