Joet Gonzalez camp calls for return fight
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…
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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.”
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