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Robeisy Ramirez outclasses Isaac Dogboe, wins WBO 126-lb. title, Joet Gonzalez outslugs Enrique Vivas

Robeisy Ramirez (left) en route to defeating Isaac Dogboe for the vacant WBO featherweight title. (Photo by Mikey Williams/Top Rank Inc via Getty Images)
Fighters Network
01
Apr

Robeisy Ramirez outboxed a determined but ultimately outclassed Isaac Dogboe over 12 rounds to earn the vacant WBO featherweight title on Saturday at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Ramirez (12-1, 7 KOs), The Ring’s No. 9-rated featherweight, won by scores of 119-108, 118-109 and 117-110.

The 29-year-old Cuban southpaw had to get through some tough early rounds when the former 122-pound beltholder pressed the action in spots, but the two-time Olympic gold medalist gradually took control of what became primarily a tactical bout over the second half of the ESPN+ streamed fight.

Dogboe (24-3, 15 KOs) tried his best to carry the momentum of a hard-earned four-bout win streak he had put together since losing back-to-back fights to Emanuel Navarrete in 2018 and 2019 into the showdown with Ramirez, but the Cuban’s awkwardly mobile style and sneaky counterpunching gradually sapped his fighting spirit.



Ramirez, who shockingly lost his pro debut in 2019, rocked the 28-year-old Ghanaian in Round 2 and scored a knockdown in the first minute of the final round.

“Now I can call myself a champion,” Ramirez said during his post-fight interview. “All the respect to a warrior like Isaac Dobgoe, he has my respect, but all I had to do (to beat him) was listen to my trainer Ismael Salas.

“Things happen for a reason. If I had not lost my pro debut I never would have gotten with Salas and changed my life.

“I want all the smoke, all the champions at featherweight.”

The other titleholders, rated Nos. 1-3 by The Ring, are Mauricio Lara (WBA), Rey Vargas (WBC) and Luis Alberto Lopez (IBF). Time will tell if Ramirez can impose his tricky style on the Mexican trio.

In the co-featured bout of the Top Rank-promoted show, two-time featherweight title challenger Joet Gonzalez scored a hard-fought unanimous decision over the equally brave volume-punching Enrique Vivas.

Gonzalez (26-3, 15 KOs), the sharper, more effective hitter during a rousing 10-round slugfest, won by scores of 99-91 and 98-93 (twice). Vivas (22-3, 11 KOs) was relentless and tireless, exceeding 90 punches thrown in several rounds, according to CompuBox, but Gonzalez’s more-accurate power shots inflicted face-warping damage during the many rounds of infighting.

The began at a fierce pace that carried throughout to the final bell and both fighters dug deep with body shots and power shots while in the trenches, but Gonzalez was more versatile with his punch selection, which included jabs, uppercuts and right crosses.

Gonzalez, who was coming off a close decision loss to Dogboe last July, landed 42% of his total punches. Vivas, whose previous losses were to fringe contender Eduardo Baez and then-unbeaten prospect Ruben Villa, landed 22% of his total punches.

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