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Jessie Magdaleno to defend title vs. Isaac Dogboe on April 28 in Philadelphia

Photo / Mikey Williams-Top Rank
Fighters Network
14
Mar

Jessie Magdaleno was preparing to compete on April 14, but an injury to Terence Crawford scrapped his fight with Jeff Horn, and with it, Magdaleno’s spot on the undercard.

Now, he’ll have an ESPN main event slot to himself. Top Rank CEO Bob Arum told THE RING on Wednesday that Magdaleno will defend his junior featherweight title against Isaac Dogboe on April 28 in Philadelphia.

It’s an intriguing bout between top 122-pounders and the show is now greatly strengthened.

The card was once set to only include Philadelphia fighters Bryant Jennings and Jesse Hart in separate fights. Now ticketed for the undercard, Jennings will face Joey Dawejko in what figures to be a fun heavyweight scrap, and Hart will meet Demond Nicholson.



Magdaleno-Dogboe heated up Tuesday when the Ghana fighter’s father, Paul Dogboe, said he would like to throw Magdaleno over the wall that President Donald Trump has so often talked about building in an attempt to crackdown on Mexican immigration.

“I condemn the intolerant rhetoric coming from Isaac Dogboe’s father regarding Jessie Magdaleno and advise him to apologize,” Arum tweeted Tuesday.

Magdaleno, who is a Las Vegas native of Mexican heritage, also condemned the comments on social media and said “it’s personal now.”

Magdaleno (25-0, 18 knockouts) won the title with a close decision victory over Nonito Donaire in November 2016. He made his first defense with a second-round knockout of Adeilson Dos Santos in April, but he’s yet to fight on ESPN since Top Rank began its partnership with the network.

The 26-year-old was scheduled to face Cesar Juarez in November, but he withdrew from the fight, citing injury. Juarez ended up fighting Dogboe (18-0, 12 KOs) in Ghana for the interim title and was stopped in the fifth round of a fight that established Dogboe as a player at 122 pounds.

The power-punching pressure fighter will have a chance at his first world title when he meets Magdaleno, it’s just two weeks later than expected.

Mike Coppinger is the Senior Writer for RingTV.com. Follow him on Twitter: @MikeCoppinger

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