Issac Dogboe took a step closer to a world title shot, as he took the WBO International featherweight title, and won an eliminator for the full belt, with a split decision victory over Joe Gonzalez in Hinckley, Minnesota.
Both men came in having faced the WBO featherweight champion before. Dogboe reigned as WBO boss at super bantamweight, until losing his title in a pair of contests in 2018 and 2019 to Emanuel Navarrete, while Gonzalez dropped a decision to the Mexican at the back end of last year. Dogboe had won three on the spin since a move to featherweight.
It was a cracking contest. Dogboe (24-2, KO15) got out of the blocks the quickest, moving in and out of range in the first three rounds especially, getting his shots away before Gonzalez (25-3, KO15) had a chance to retaliate, and get in any shots of relevance of his own. Gonzalez did come to life in round four though, as he dipped the Ghanaian’s knees with a sharp overhand right, and he inched his way back into the contest after halfway, pressuring Dogboe and backing his man up in the sixth as he found the target and his range with more regularity. After outworking Dogboe in round seven, Dogboe found a second wind, seemingly with the fight being close, and he out hustled Gonzalez on the inside in the penultimate round. With all to play for in the final frame, both men let their hands go until the final bell, where it was unclear who the victor would be.
👏 @IsaacDogboe overcomes Joet Gonzalez by split decision to make it four straight wins
🗣 “Whoever the champions are, they should watch out. I am back, baby!”
🎥 @trboxing #DogboeGonzalez pic.twitter.com/7mLqx5X0VJ
— BOXRAW (@BOXRAW) July 24, 2022
Dogboe took two scores of 96-94 to Gonzalez’s one, earning the split decision nod, and a possible trilogy meeting with Navarrete.
On the undercard, Gabriel Flores Jr (21-2, KO7) suffered a second defeat in three fights, as he was soundly outscored by Giovanni Cabrera (21-0, KO7) at lightweight. Cabrera took the win by three scores of 98-89 over ten rounds.
At heavyweight, Guido Vianello (9-0-1, KO9) took care of Rafael Rios (11-4, KO8) in the third of their scheduled eight rounder, while Antonio Mireles (4-0, KO4) took two rounds to halt Dennis Reyes (3-3, KO1). Cayman Audie (2-1, KO1) took a four round decision win over Anthony Garrett (1-2, KO1) by three scores of 39-34, and Colton Warner (5-1, KO3) took all four rounds against James Barnes (1-3, KO1).
In six round action, Javier Martinez (7-0, KO2) took the battle of unbeatens at middleweight, taking a points win against Pachino Hill (7-1-1, KO6). Also at middleweight, Antonio Woods (11-0, KO9) scored a stoppage win over Darryl Jones (4-5-1, KO2), while Haven Brady Jr (7-0, KO4) remained undefeated, as the featherweight won all six frames against Aaron Echeveste Lopez (6-8, KO3).
Dante Benjamin (3-0, KO2) needed a round to see off Corey Thompson (4-1, KO3) at light heavyweight, and at super featherweight, Abdullah Mason (3-0, KO3) stopped Luis Fernandez (1-4-1, KO0).
