By Ian S Palmer
Undefeated WBO Super Bantamweight Champion Jessie Magdaleno of Las Vegas will be defending his title against unbeaten Isaac Dogboe of Ghana at the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania this Saturday, April 28th. Magdaleno hasn’t fought in a year since stopping Adeilson Dos Santos of Brazil this last April 22nd. Dogboe’s last outing was against Cesar Juarez this January when he stopped him in the fifth round. The Magdaleno vs Dogboe tilt can be seen live in the U.S. On ESPN and ESPN Deportes and fans in the UK and Ireland can catch it on BoxNation and those in Canada on TSN 2.
Magdaleno, a southpaw, won the title in November, 2016 when he beat Nonito Donaire by an impressive unanimous decision and this will be his second defence. The 26-year-old is a perfect 25-0 with 18 Kos to his name. He has 101 rounds under his belt since turning pro in 2010. He’s beaten the likes of Donaire, Dos Santos, Erik Ruiz, Roberto Castaneda, Luis Maldonado and Raul Hidalgo with Donaire definitely being the best of the bunch and the only truly elite boxer he’s faced.
Magdaleno stands 5-feet-4-inches tall and has a 66-inch reach. He’s also got quite a bit of power in his fists with a current knockout ratio of 72 per cent. Even though he’s got a good knockout ratio, Magdaleno also has some good boxing skills and enjoyed a fine amateur career with a reported record of 120-16. He was a Golden Gloves and National champion back in 2009 and learned lot in the amateur ranks. He’s handled the pro game well up to now due to his power and overall ring generalship.
Dogboe is just 23 years old and hails from Accra. He’ll climb also climb into the ring with a perfect mark of 18-0 along with 12 Kos. He also enjoyed a fine amateur career and boxed at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, England. He turned pro a year later and has boxed 98 rounds since then. He’s won several regional and minor titles since turning pro including the West African Boxing Union, WBO Africa, WBC Youth Silver and WBO Oriental Featherweight Titles as well as the WBO International and WBO World Super Bantamweight Titles.
Dogboe has a solid chin as well as good power with his current knockout ratio being 63 per cent. He’s 5-feet-2-inches tall with a 66-inch reach so is two inches shorter than the champion with the same wingspan. As well as beating Juarez he’s also beaten Dos Santos, Javier Nicolas Chacon and Julian Aristule. The majority of Dogboe’s opponents won’t be recognizable by the average boxing fan and he’ll be stepping up in class against the champion Magdaleno. However, he’s insisting he’ll knock Magdaleno out and take the title back to Africa with him.
Prediction…
Magdaleno appears to be ready for prime time after beating Donaire and Dos Santos in impressive fashion and this is a mandatory defence. He took Donaire’s power shots well and if he can handle Dogboe’s the same way then he should be able to box his way to a victory.
