In a back-and-forth battle that saw both men hit the canvas, Isaac Dogboe (19-0, 13 KOs) overcame Jessie Magdaleno (25-1, 18 KOs) to win the WBO World Super Bantamweight title by 11th-round TKO.
A serious war of words that started long ago on social media and spilled into fight week added an extra level of intensity going into the bout and both men were forced to dig deep to try and make good on their knockout predictions.
Magdaleno was making the second defense of his crown and returning to the ring after a yearlong layoff, while Dogboe was looking to continue his three-fight stoppage streak.
Even with the long layoff, the Las Vegas, Nevada native Magdaleno looked sharp early on, scoring a knockdown in Round 1.
Although Magdaleno blamed his loss on inactivity, Dogboe was buzzed numerous times and showed championship heart–regrouping and coming back to eventually stop Magdaleno.
After surviving some early scares, Dogboe came back in Round 5 to drop Magdaleno and showed that he could impose his will, repeatedly pinning Magdaleno against the ropes.
At the time of the stoppage in Round 11, Dogboe was ahead on all three scorecards by scores of 97-91, 96-91 and 95-93.
Although there were some vicious verbal insults traded before the fight, both men showed class after the fight.
“He was the better man tonight,” said Magdaleno after the stoppage loss. “The inactivity got to me, but I don’t want to take anything away from Isaac. He is a great warrior. He got a great opportunity, and he took it. I wish nothing but the best to him.”
With the solid showing and the upset victory, Dogboe can now add his name next to other great Ghanaian champions.
“This is a great feeling. [Hall of Famer] Azumah Nelson [of Ghana] did it, and now I can call myself a champion,” said Dogboe.
All photos by Mikey Williams/Top Rank
