Isaac Dogboe
World Boxing Organisation (WBO) International super bantamweight champion, Isaac Dogboe, has set for himself an audacious objective of reclaiming the seemingly lost glory and pride of Ghana boxing by becoming the next world champion for Ghana.
The journey to that big day will start on July 22 at the Bukom Boxing Arena where he stages a defense of his WBO International super bantamweight title against Argentine warrior, Nicholas Javier Chacon.
Having watched a number of attempts by Ghanaian boxers to get to the top crush under unfortunate circumstances, Dogboe told the Times Sports yesterday that he feels indebted to Ghanaians to deliver a world title very soon.
Apart from Emmanuel ‘Game boy’ Tagoe who braced the odds to win the International Boxing Organisation (IBO) title, the likes of Richard Commey, ‘Red Tiger’ Ashie and the latest of all, Obodai Sai have all been unfortunate in their pursuit for boxing glory for the nation.
Commey lost his world championship fight to American Robert Easter Jnr in a manner that plunged the boxing community into sadness while Sai saw his hopes of getting a world title shot vanish into thin air.
Dogboe said he has been strengthened by this background which he said has left him in a must-win situation because the fans would not accept another disappointment.
“The past year has been extremely tough for us considering the number of times efforts from Ghanaian boxers to reach the top have ended up in the drains. I feel the weight of those expectations now. I feel I must deliver at all cost and that is exactly what I am aiming at,”
“A situation like this can affect you negatively or positively but for me, it is positive. I want to prove something to Ghanaians. When I came, I promised to win a world title for them and I have not forgotten about it. The road has been tough and rough sometimes and has affected the journey but the destination remains the same.”
“My objective is to restore and reclaim the lost glory and pride of Ghana’s boxing. This is a target I set for myself; it may sound huge but certainly not above me. It is achievable and this is the target Ghanaians should judge me by.”
The WBO Africa Boxer of the Year 2016 said he has been in the gym for the past eight months; training to stay fit and focused but without a stern competition as a contest against Edward Kambassi was cancelled with some few days to go.
But the cancellation, he said, has not affected his preparation for the date with Chacon which he hopes to win to edge closer to the ‘Journey to Las Vegas’ dream.
He described Chacon as a strong, seasoned, tough and durable boxer, a two-time world title challenger from a boxing family with a lot of tutorials from his father, a former world champion.
On how he overcomes such a talented boxer with memories of the stubbornness displayed by a previous opponent, Neil Tabanao from the Philippines still fresh in the memories of fans, Dogboe offered a very simple answer – I’m set for battle.
“I train very hard each day to be in a good shape but I also get a lot of motivation from Psalm 144:1. It says ‘Praise be to the Lord my rock who prepares my hands for war and fingers for battle.”
Dogboe urged Ghanaians to fill the Bukom arena in their numbers to support him to victory as he attempts to put Ghana at the top as far as boxing was concerned.
