Ghana’s Emmanuel “Game Boy” Tagoe and Argentina’s Fernando David Saucedo both made weight for Saturday night’s main event at Bukom Boxing Arena in Accra.
Tagoe’s IBO World lightweight title will be on the line. The champion and challenger both weighed 135lbs, the division limit.
Tagoe will be making the first defense of the belt he won in December 2016 against Mzonke Fana. He was scheduled to face dangerous former world champion Argenis Mendez last August, but injuries and countless delays saw the fight get pushed back multiple times.
It remains unclear why Tagoe, fully-healed, opted to fight Saucedo instead. The Argentine is riding a nine-fight winning streak since losing a unanimous decision to IBF World super featherweight champion Rances Barthelemy in 2014.
However, Saucedo’s opposition during this win streak is hardly impressive. Last July, he defeated Ramon Elizer Esperanza via decision, but Esperanza came into that fight having lost seven of his last nine fights, including a TKO defeat in 2016.
At 36, Saucedo’s best days are well behind him. He’ll likely give it one more valiant effort in his last shot at relevance. BoxingAfrica.com expects Tagoe to dominate from the opening bell, winning via TKO or wide unanimous decision.
