Frank Espinoza: Gonzalez vs. Dogboe was special and special fights deserve a rematch!
“What a great, competitive fight,” said boxing manager Frank Espinoza of this weekend’s fight between his fighter Joet Gonzalez and Isaac Dogboe.
Dogboe (24-2, 15 KOs), #125.8, of London, UK and Accra, Ghana is a former WBO super bantam champ. He won by split decision over Gonzalez (25-3, 15 KOs), #125.6, of Glendora, CA, in a 10 round WBC eliminator.
“Joet did a great job. He attacked the body and was very effective. Dogboe is a hell of a fighter and he had his moments but in the end, I felt that Joet had pulled off the win.”
But what could Joet have done better?
“He did his job and it was close. Dogboe used to be a world champion for a reason. He’s a talented fighter,” Espinoza continued. “This is one of the closest fights I’ve ever been involved with and if you speak to different people in the media and you’ll get different opinions about who won.”
The scores were razor thin with Dogboe winning on two of the judges cards 96-94 and Gonzalez winning the other card 96-94.
The ESPN commentators had the fight scored dead even at 95-95. They also called the thrilling encounter match a “special fight” after the final bell rang.
“This was a hard fought, fan-friendly fight. Very exciting. But let’s face it we didn’t get a clear winner,” said Espinoza. “I think the fans would greatly benefit from a rematch. This was a WBC title eliminator and getting that title shot is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for these guys. They both deserve clarity.”
ESPN had Gonzalez ahead on punch output at the end of the fight with Gonzalez landing 197 punches to Dogboe’s 190.
Gonzalez felt he clearly won the fight. “Much respect to Dogboe he’s a great fighter but I felt I did more than enough to win. I’m feeling very unsatisfied with this decision,” he said. “I absolutely 100 percent want a rematch. This was too close. If I’m going to lose I should feel like I lost but I don’t feel I lost this time.”
Espinoza will be seeking a rematch immediately with the WBC.
“Absolutely. The fans and the fighters deserve part 2 of Gonzalez vs Dogboe,” he said. “These guys’ careers are on the line. So you’ll see even more of a dog fight in the rematch. They know what’s at stake. It’s their future and their families’ future. These guys have a lot of pride and they’re hungry for greatness. This is one of those rematches that will be a guaranteed war. As the commentators on ESPN said, this was a special fight. And special fights deserve a rematch.”
Very good fight, watched the whole thing. Not a SPECIAL fight but definitely deserves to be run back again. I thought Gonzalez landed the cleaner harder punches and deserved the decision. I don’t understand how these announcers give credit for punch output if the punches aren’t landing. They were saying that Gonzalez landed more punches but Dogboe threw more. And?? Then give Gonzalez credit for defense. Really like Dogboe though. I’ve always been a fan. He had a ton of heart but is very small for 126.
But honestly no one wants to see it again and then it was a 10rd eliminator. Weak. Poor Gonzalez is just one of those guys that will never beat the big names and always be an inch away from a championship. Sad
Great fight. Let’s run it again. I’ll watch for sure! I thought Gonzalez took it barely.
This was a WBC eliminator. A couple of weeks ago Brandon Figueroa won the WBC final eliminator on the undercard of a WBC mandatory. So it may be awhile before Figueroa gets his shot and even longer before Dogboe does. Top Rank has a lot of featherweights, Dogboe, Gonzalez, Navarrete, Venado, Lopez, Ramirez, Nova – I’m fine with him fighting any of the rest of them (except Navarrete of course) and Venado is actually in the same position of waiting on a title shot.
Rematch does not make any sense as it was not controversial enough. Let them go in different directions and down the road if a rematch is warranted have it then.
Joet won this fight! Close, but had him up by 2 points!!
a rematch is in order this was a great fight
Why should Dogboe give him a return? If that clown Gonzalez was to win the return in a close match, ya can bet your life he will never fight Dogboe in a decider. Dogboe should focus on trying to get a title shot. Dogboes`s father was an idiot for signing his son to top rank.
WillisLv, effective aggression is a criteria judges use in scoring fights, and although you or another judge in this fight may have thought Gonzalez landed more and the punches were cleaner; someone else or another judge may have thought Dogboe was busier, thus giving the impression that he was doing more during the fight. Its a matter of opinion.