By Simon Asare
Accra, April 2, GNA – Ghanaian boxer Isaac “Royal Storm” missed out on becoming a two-time World Champion after being outclassed by Cuba’s Robeisy Ramirez.
Ramirez clinched the vacant World Boxing Organisation (WBO) featherweight title on Saturday at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
It was a dominant performance by Ramirez over Dogboe in a fascinating 12th round encounter, as the judges scored 119-110, 118-108, and 117-110 all in favour of the Cuban boxer.
Dogboe (24-3, 15 KOs), who is a former WBO Super bantamweight champion and had won four straight bouts after his back-to-back losses to Emanuel Naverrete, was poised to outbox his opponent, who is a two-time Olympic gold medalist.
Dogboe started the early rounds very well as he threw lots of punches, but it was Ramirez (12-1, 7 KOs) who landed the big shots and gradually took charge in the mid-rounds.
The bout was very tactical, as both boxers mounted some strong defence and calculated offence, but Ramirez landed some clean punches and some good counterpunches, with Dogboe often going to the body of the Cuban.
Ramirez scored a knockdown in the last round over the 28-year-old Ghanaian boxer and ended the bout very strongly with a highly dominant win.
After the bout, Ramirez, who lost his pro debut in 2019, showed massive respect for Dogboe, whom he described as a warrior and had earned his respect.
“Now I can call myself a champion,” Ramirez said during his post-fight interview. “All the respect to a warrior like Isaac Dobgoe, he has my respect, but all I had to do (to beat him) was listen to my trainer, Ismael Salas.
“Things happen for a reason. If I had not lost my pro debut, I never would have gotten with Salas and changed my life.
“I want all the smoke, all the champions at featherweight,” Ramirez said in an interview after the bout.
GNA