Magdaleno-Dogboe is on, but the question is, when? As it stands, it looks like WBO World super bantamweight champion Jessie Magdaleno will defend his title versus Ghana’s Isaac Dogboe (pictured) on April 14 at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nevada.
That would make it part of an ESPN pay-per-view tripleheader, that will also feature Manny Pacquiao vs. Mike Alvarado, and consensus world’s best fighter Terence Crawford challenging WBO World welterweight champion Jeff Horn in the main event.
The bout was originally slated for April 28 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, or in Maryland. However, according to Top Rank Promotions, Magdaleno’s promoter, and Dogboe’s Rising Star Promotions, nothing has been finalized yet.
Much of the hold-up involves the potential showdown between world lightweight champion Vasyl Lomachenko and super featherweight champion Jorge Linares. Should that bout occur, it would likely happen on April 28th or May 12th.
Top Rank, Lomachenko’s promoter, prefer their ESPN May 12th date, which would likely draw greater viewership.
However, Linares’ promoter, Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions, wants April 28th, a show they could use to promote their May 5th rematch between Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin.
Lomachenko-Linares seems in danger of falling apart. However, a decision on the date for Magdaleno-Dogboe won’t be made until that is resolved.
The 23-year-old Dogboe, (18-0, 12 KO’s), won the interim WBO world title last month, when he dropped Mexico’s Cesar Juarez twice in a fifth-round TKO victory at Bukom Boxing Arena in Accra, Ghana.
Magdaleno (25-0, 18 KO’s) hasn’t fought since April 2017. The 26-year-old would be making the second defense of his title versus Dogboe.
It’s an excellent matchup between two rising fighters willing to put it on the line at an early stage in their careers. A decisive win by either, particularly if it lands on the pay-per-view, would be a major step toward stardom.
