ALL THE ACTION
Including a five-star world title clash and the crowning of a unified champion
PHILADELPHIA, PA APRIL 28 ★★★★★ MAIN EVENT ★★★ UNDERCARD ★★★★ ATMOSPHERE
IN what very well could be a career-defining performance, Ghana’s Isaac
Dogboe came off the floor to stop reigning WBO super-bantamweight title-holder Jessie Magdaleno at the Liacouras Center.
Dogboe is clearly not the feel-‘em-out type. He went after Magdaleno from the start, forcing him to the ropes and whacking away at the body with both hands. Magdaleno was taken by surprise at first but was forced to fire back or be swept away. He caught Dogboe with two slashing lefts to the head and the challenger went down for an eight-count.
The Accra native looked a little unsteady when action resumed but was beginning to fight back as the round drew to a close.
Over the next three rounds Dogboe gradually took over the fight. He applied relentless pressure. You could hear his body punches landing – thwack, thwack, thwack – and see Magdaleno’s torso shudder as the onslaught continued.
With the memory of Dogboe on the canvas fresh in his mind, Magdaleno was still fighting to win. He had a good moment in the third when a counter left made Dogboe hold, but other than that was he was absorbing an increasingly painful beating.
In the fifth Dogboe unleashed an arching right that drilled Magdaleno square on the chin and put him on his back. It was a beautiful punch and Dogboe backed up and raised both arms in the air, thinking the fight was over. He looked a bit surprised when Magdaleno struggled to his feet but attacked mercilessly and dished out a dreadful beating the rest of the round.
Realising that trading with Dogboe was futile, Magdaleno changed tactics in the seventh and began to use lateral movement to stay out of range. He did likewise in the eighth and managed to catch Dogboe with a hard left in the ninth but couldn’t keep it up.
The match turned into rout in the 10th. Dogboe totally dominated, repeatedly hurting Magdaleno with wicked punches to the head and body. The last 10 seconds of the round must have felt like an eternity for Magdaleno, and nobody would have blamed his corner if they had
stopped the fight at the end of the round.
But the brave Las Vegas southpaw answered the bell for the 11th like a man on his way to meet a firing squad.
Two rights to the body and another to the head, followed by a left hook put Magdaleno down on his hands and knees. He knew he was beaten but also knew he had to get up if he could. Somehow he was upright inside of referee Benjy Esteves’ 10-count and allowed to continue.
Dogboe backed Magdaleno into the ropes one final time where, after landing a series of vicious body punches, he teed-up Magdaleno’s head with a right uppercut and dropped him with a left hook.
Mr Esteves stopped the fight at the 1-38 mark without issuing a count and cradled Magdaleno in his arms.
Dogboe has a quiet charisma about him, a small man with a big smile. He made a hit with Philadelphia fans. They had come to support neighbourhood favourites but went home thinking about Ghana’s youngest ever world champion and his rousing style of fighting.
Local super-middleweight Jesse Hart, the son of 1970s middleweight contender Eugene “Cyclone” Hart, continued to build toward a rematch with WBO champion Gilberto Ramirez (who won a close decision over Hart in September 2017) by stopping Demond Nicholson in the seventh round of a scheduled 10.
After an aggressive start, Hart grew careless and Nicholson rocked him with a straight right to the chin just before the end of the first round. The Philadelphian staggered across the ring and into the ropes where he grabbed the top strand for support. The bell rang before Nicholson could follow up, effectively ending his best chance for victory.
Undaunted, Hart continued his helterskelter attack in the second round and didn’t let up until the fight was over. When Nicholson slipped in the second, referee Shawn Clark ruled it was a knockdown. Later in the same round, Hart tallied a legitimate knockdown with a thudding right to the head.
In the seventh a flush right knocked Nicholson into a squatting position. Hart missed a follow-up hook and the Laurel, Maryland boxer fell forward, both gloves touching the canvas. Referee Clark, however, let the action continue without a count.
Hart followed up with three blows to the head and Nicholson retreated to the other side of the ring. Jesse raced after him and threw an overhand right that barely grazed Nicholson and a left hook that whistled harmlessly over his head.
Nicholson, who clearly had had enough, went down in a sitting position. Clark counted to ‘eight’ and then inexplicably told him to get up. When a bemused Nicholson finally complied, the referee waved the fight off at the 2-26 mark.
The much anticipated 10-rounder for the vacant Pennsylvania heavyweight title between Bryant Jennings and Joey
Dawejko failed to live up to expectation. There were flashes of excitement but little sustained action.
Overall, Jennings’ work was of superior quality and his punches sharper. He was, however, extremely economical with his offensive output, and didn’t really open up until the final round. All three official scorecards read 98-92 in Jennings’ favour, which seemed somewhat generous. Gary Rosato was the referee.
THE VERDICT A stunning breakout victory for Dogboe.