Emanuel Navarrete will look to stave off the aggressive Isaac Dogboe once again!
In December 2018, we saw an upset happen which many may consider significant. Once-beaten super bantamweight contender Emanuel Navarrete (26-1, 22KOs) would enter the ring with the unbeaten WBO super bantamweight champion Isaac Dogboe (20-1, 14KOs) and absolutely dominate the champion.
Fast forward five months later and these two men are ready to do it again!
For Navarrete, he’s looking to show the first fight was no fluke and he’s here to stay.
As for Dogboe, he’s looking to show the world that first fight was a fluke and that he simply had a bad night.
Navarrete has a three inch height advantage and eight inch reach advantage; tools he did an excellent job of utilizing to keep the former champion on the end of the majority of his punches.
He’ll need to repeat this if he wants to retain his title. His ability to throw combinations from the outside proved to be an uphill battle for the short stature of his opponent.
Struggling to successfully get inside the reach of the current champion caused Dogboe to abandon his game plan and get reckless. His jab was non-existent, which led to him lunging in and throwing wild punches; further resulting in him being countered with punishing shots.
The fighter from Ghana will need establish his jab, and use his superior foot speed and movement to get himself in punching range to be successful.
Prediction
I feel this fight favors Navarrete, as he was dominant in the first go-round. However, something tells me that Dogboe has been humbled and now refocused.
He will be much more dangerous than he was in the first fight. I think he’ll fight a smarter fight, carefully picking his spots to attack and frustrating the champion. He’ll also mix in the body shots he’s known for.
I’ll roll the dice and go with Dogboe to regain his title by way of a Split Decision!
By: Jerrell Fletcher
