Why Dogboe lost his WBO title

Boxing sensation Isaac Dogboe was given a rude shock of his life when he was handed a humiliating defeat by Emmanual Navarrete, in the second defence of his World Boxing Organisation (WBO) Super Batamweight title at the Madison Square Garden, United States of America (USA), Sunday morning.

It was Dogboe's first defeat in the professional ranks, as the huge Navarrete, who has a huge height and reach advantage, landed some clean hard body punches, that visibly hurt Dogboe.

The Ghanaian, was then compelled to move backwards in the ring, which was never his modus operandi.

At the end, all the three judges scored 115-113, 116-112 and 116-112, in favour of the Mexican, ending the eight month reign of Dogboe.

The GNA Sports takes a critical look at the factors, that possibly caused the defeat of promising Dogboe, who many thought would reign for long and step into the shoes of legendary Azumah Nelson.

Inadequate preparations; Dogboe, admitted right after the fight that, he was not well prepared for the fight and it affected his output. This was evident in his approach, right from his attacks, defence and the facial damage suffered at the hands of the Mexican. Inadequate preparations could also be attributed to the decision of the boxer, to go back to school after the Otake defeat.

Dogboe, now a University student, would definitely have it difficult combining classroom work, conducting research, with the physical pressures of training each day to keep shape. May be Dogboe had to defer the course and concentrate on boxing at least for now, since he has age on his side.

He also admitted that, they underrated the Mexican, who had never fought in the USA, but was never perturbed by the environment. Statistics indicate that, Navarrete landed 221 of 804 total punches (27.5%), while Dogboe landed 176 of 686 total punches (25.7%).

For Dogboe to admit, he underrated his opponent, was a worrying sign and could also be a reason for his defeat. It is obvious that, after the Hidenori Otake defeat that, complacency seem to have set into the mind of the young boxer and his team. They have developed the mindset of invisibility and the rude awakening was enough for him to start all over.

It is also strange for Dogboe to have made those comments, as the Mexican, who remains undefeated, has been one of the few in the rank, many champions have avoided at least at this stage.

Reach advantage; Dogboe and his camp had no clue to the reach of the Mexican. The huge Navarrete was mouthful for Dogboe, as he boxed from the outside and relied heavily on jabs to finish the Gnhanaian.

Even when Dogboe was having success offensively, he took a lot of clean shots as well, which started busting him up. Later he had two swollen eyes and was bleeding from the nose. It slowed him down and affected his ability to attack, which was his usual style.

However, though Dogboe had always had height deficiency, he made it up with his admirable fitness level, it seems he lost it this time, obviously due to lack of concentration and inadequate preparation.

Dangerous gamble; though the defence against Navarrete, was mandatory, it was equally a dangerous gamble, taking into consideration the profile of the Mexican and the fact that many avoided him. It is a fact that, you must beat the best if you want to remain the best, but in boxing there have been occasions where boxers despite the situation decide who to fight. His camp must take another look at their arrangement and plan better next time.

Poor judgment from the corner men: The kind of performance exhibited by the Mexican, was an ample demonstration of the fact that, his camp, studied the Ghanaian thoroughly and devised a plan for his defeat. They relied heavily on his reach and prevented Dogboe, from fighting his style. Dogboe and his camp were just not able to neutralise the strength of the Mexican, hence the humiliating defeat.

Navarrete, combined stiff jabs, countering with thudding body shots downstairs of Dogboe, which were just too much for the Ghanaian and by the tenth round, there was significant presence from ringside physicians in Dogboe's corner assessing his vision.

Indeed, it was only courage and bravery that kept Dogboe standing up in the final two rounds, as he swung wildly because of his lack of vision and clinched to hold himself upright.

Moving on, Team Dogboe, must do a thorough assessment of the situation as they plan their comeback.