The “Royal Storm” swept through the Las Vegas desert looking as deadly as ever.
A much-improved Isaac Dogboe ended a near 14-month layoff with an impressive eighth-round TKO of a game Chris Avalos Tuesday night at The Bubble in Las Vegas’ MGM Grand, live on ESPN.
THAT is how you debut in the Featherweight division. 😤@IsaacDogboe was on point the entire way, and ultimately stoped Chris Avalos in the 8th and final round.#ValdezVelez | LIVE NOW on ESPN pic.twitter.com/bfwbMafmmn
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) July 22, 2020
“It’s been a tremendous road,” said Dogboe (21-2, 15 KOs) afterward. “We’re still warming up. I felt great in there today.”
He looked great as well, moving up to featherweight following successive losses to Emmanuel Navarrete which cost him the WBO world super bantamweight belt. On this night, Dogboe shook off the ring rust quickly with a surprisingly stiff jab that set up everything else. Avalos (27-8, 20 KOs) had no answers, despite being competitive early on, particularly in the second which he won with combination punching.
Those moments were few and far between. Dogboe dominated, easily switching from offense to defense as he calmly broke Avalos down working behind his stick.
Dogboe also excelled in close quarters, landing debilitating body shots that slowly sapped Avalos’ energy.
Dogboe began pulling away in the fourth. A left to the ribs appeared to knock the wind out of Avalos. The American was also buzzed by several hard rights.
The fifth featured more of the same until midway through the frame, when referee Russell Mora, inexplicably, deducted a point from Dogboe for a right hand that landed on Avalos’ beltline.
The penalty drew derision from members of the ESPN announcing team, who thought it was a legal shot. In the end, it didn’t matter. Dogboe continued to wear Avalos down minute by minute, working his body with both hands and finishing off up top.
Dogboe stepped it up toward the end of the seventh, closing the stanza with a hard right upstairs followed by a hook to the liver as Avalos sagged into the ropes. “Royal Storm” didn’t let up in the eighth, punishing Avalos with shots that pushed him around the ring. The onslaught forced Mora to step in at 2:25 of the round.
.@IsaacDogboe is looking sharrrrp so far in his Featherweight debut.
Final round is live now on ESPN, as the former world champ is closing strong in tonight’s opener. #ValdezVelez pic.twitter.com/kPJqzV7L1s
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) July 22, 2020
Afterward, the 25-year-old Ghanaian credited much of his success to working with new trainers Barry Hunter and Patrice Harris.
“I had to listen,” Dogboe said. “I could hear his voice telling me, I should take my time. I should relax. I shouldn’t force it. Sometimes I felt a little bit tense, but once I went with the flow, everything was just flowing off the jab. I felt great tonight.”
So does Ghana, following that eye-catching performance.
