Mike Altamura, matchmaker for WBO world interim bantamweight champion Isaac Dogboe, believes the Ghanaian will upset the odds when he faces Mexico’s Jessie Magdaleno for Magdaleno’s WBO world junior featherweight title on April 14 in Las Vegas, Nevada’s Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino.
“Fighting in a 15,000-capacity venue like the Mandalay Bay provides every boxer the chance to prove himself,” Altamura told Ghana’s Graphic.com. “I’m happy that Dobgoe has that chance and I’m assuring every fan of his that he will seize that chance and discharge his duties creditably.”
Now that Manny Pacquiao has pulled out of the card, Magdaleno-Dogboe has been bumped to the co-feature of the main event featuring pound for pound king Terence Crawford battling Jeff Horn for Horn’s WBO world welterweight title. It’s a major opportunity for Dogboe to not only win a world title, but to make a name for himself on an international stage.
“It is certainly his biggest so far and a defining moment in his career. He will put up a splendid performance in the fight, I have no doubt,” Altamura said.
Dobgoe, (18-0, 12 KOs) took a major step up in class last January, when he bludgeoned Mexican Cesar Juarez via fifth-round TKO to obtain this world title shot.
Dogboe has been chasing this opportunity for a year. He and Magdaleno have history—the Ghanaian dubbed “Royal Storm” had heated sparring sessions with Magdaleno when he was only 4-0. Further, according to Altamura, Magdaleno and his promoter—Bob Arum’s Top Rank Promotions—have been avoiding this match.
“They are afraid to fight Isaac and had wanted to avoid this bout, but we are ready to prove our worth to them,” he declared. “This is the first time Magdaleno is being mandated to fight someone like Isaac.
“Ahead of Isaac’s fight with Juarez, I was approached by Top Rank to have him pull out of the bout in order to wait for Magdaleno to vacate his title so we can go for it, which I declined,” he continued.
Magdaleno, 26, was scheduled to face the aforementioned Juarez last November, but pulled out with a wrist injury. He hasn’t fought in nearly a year.
