In Dogboe, another world champ on the horizon

Ghana’s world of professional boxing has come collapsing following the passage of “the golden era” when the Azumah Nelsons, Ike Quarteys, Alfred Koteys, Nana Yaw Konadus and Joshua Clotteys raised the national flag high beyond the shores of the country.

There appears to have been a dearth of boxing talent in recent times, making Bukom Banku and Ayitey Powers every promoter’s ready pair for a local match any day.

However, on the international scene there have been efforts by Joseph Agbeko, Emmanuel ‘Game Boy’ Tagoe, Richard Commey, among others, to recapture Ghana’s stature of old in the sport.

Indeed, we cannot fail to recount Agbeko’s bantamweight exploits against Colombia’s Yonnhy Perez and Luis Melendez, Guillarmo Rigondeaux of Cuba and Juanito Rubillar of The Philipines, nor forget about the lightweight bout between Tagoe and Allan Kamote of Tanzania and Commey’s Commonwealth championship wins also at lightweight.

However, one talent who has emerged and on whom many Ghanaian boxing aficionados are pinning their hopes to follow in the path of the legendary Azumah is Isaac Dogboe.

The little featherweight, previously domiciled in the UK, where he picked the rudiments of the fistic sport under his father’s tutelage, carries the nickname ‘Royal Storm’.

We cannot stop being thrilled by the power-packed storm in the fist of this young lad who has already despatched 11 opponents without defeat, with most of them not lasting beyond the sixth round.

His diminutive figure belies his power of storm, we dare admit, and for fight fans who watched him demolish his opponent from Uganda, Edward Kakembo, in round six of their scheduled 12-rounder for the WBO Africa featherweight title in Accra last Saturday, it was another Azumah Nelson in the works.

Indeed, he is a professional boxer of few words and carries the humility of the Professor at his prime. The hands do the talking and it is our belief that Isaac will stay the course.

We were privileged to have experienced his humility and self-discipline at close range when he visited our offices yesterday in the company of his father-trainer, David Dogboe, and no less a boxing personality than Yoofi Boham, a guardian who had played similar roles for those great boxers of the past afore-mentioned.

That Isaac will take on the world and become Ghana’s next world champion at featherweight is doubtless, as he has decided to stay on in the country to master the art with regular preparatory fights (See page 12).

We hope both father and guardian will spare no effort at honing the latent talent in the Royal Storm, for he is a gem ready to explode onto the world stage.