Last night, former WBO Super Bantamweight champion, Isaac “Royal Storm” Dogboe beat Mexican-American, Chris Avalos by TKO in Las Vegas. After 14 months out of the ring, Dogboe’s return at Featherweight was touted as a must win considering his two damaging defeats to Emmanuel Navarette in 2018 and 2019. This fight was a warm up fight for him to gain some confidence and get rid of the proverbial ring rust after a long layoff. His performance on the night was dominant and controlling from start to finish and it was no surprise that the referee stopped the fight in the final round, albeit prematurely.
Under the guidance of new trainer Barry Hunter, Dogboe looked composed, calculating and confident. His jabs were more effective and he was hitting combinations that did damage. What remains to be seen is how his defense has improved over the period. There were flashes of brilliant head and foot movement but with Avalos not really seen as a top puncher or offensive boxer, future fights will tell us what Dogboe’s defense looks like now. Nonetheless, it was an encouraging comeback after such a long period of inactivity.
Questions still remain despite last night’s performance in Las Vegas. Dogboe’s height remains a concern for many looking back at previous fights. At 5 ft 4 inches, the Royal Storm is one of the smallest in stature within the division. This causes concern when he meets taller fighters who use the range and reach, like Navarette did in his last two fights. However, Dogboe has overcome adversity in the past and is now 21-2 with 15 KOs to go with that stat. Dogboe still has a lot to do to repair his image and this fight was a step in the right direction. We look forward to more fights whether its at 122 lbs or 126 lbs and of course a world title fight along the way. For now we say CONGRATS!!!!!!
NEHO!!!!!!!!!!
THE HUB 