Emanuel Navarrete (27-1, 23. KOs) proved that he is indeed the new man to beat in the Super Bantamweight division. The WBO title holder unseated previous champion Isaac Dogboe (20-2, 14 KOs) back in December of 2018.
The win was a shock to say the least. These two men decided to run it back one more time in order to close the chapter on their rivalry.
On May 11, 2019, Navarrete quieted the naysayers who believed he was nothing more than a fluke champion. Coming into their rematch, Dogboe was at a decided physical disadvantage, as his opponent was the far bigger man. Their first contest was a close one, but this time around it was a one-sided affair.
From the opening bell, Navarrete used his long reach to keep his man back. The much smaller Dogboe just couldn’t find a way around a way to get his offense going. In Rounds 2 and 3 he was badly hurt by a series of right hands. Not only was the champion dishing out more damage, but he was also more active during the rounds.
To be frank, the first four rounds saw Dogboe endure a ton of punishment. Round 5 however, saw him bounce back. The former champ was able to get in close and render the defending champions outstanding reach useless as he was able to get his offense going. It was the sort of round Dogboe had been searching for.
Any momentum that Dogboe received in the previous round was quickly put to bed as the following frame began.
Navarrete had Dogboe in serious trouble as he fell on to the ropes. At that point, the referee felt as though it was the ropes that kept Dogboe upright and ruled the sequence a knockdown. Although Dogboe managed to weather the storm he was still in plenty of trouble as the contest continued.
In Round 12, Dogboe was taking a pounding. A right hand by the champ sent Dogboe down to the canvas. He got back to his feet, but his father who was working his corner put an end to the contest, giving Navarrete another big victory.
