Michael Conlan vs. Isaac Dogboe agreed for Dec.5 on ESPN

By Boxing News - 10/22/2020 - Comments

By Charles Brun:  Two-time Olympian Michael Conlan will taking on former WBO super bantamweight champion Isaac Dogboe on December 5. According to ESPN, the Conlan (14-0, 8 KOs) vs. Dogboe (21-2, 15 KOs) will be taking place on the undercard of WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury at Royal Albert Hall in London.

The 28-year-old Conlan takes a major step up in class in taking on ‘Royal Storm’ Dogboe. At 28, Conlan’s promoters at Top Rank need to do something with him before turning 30. Dogboe is a make or breaks fight for Conlan.

If he can’t beat Dogboe, it’s going to be tough for him to try and win a world title at 126. Conlan might need to consider moving down to 122, if possible.

A two-time Olympians are usually moved quickly, but it’s been the opposite with Conlan. He’s not been pushed rapidly by Top Rank, which suggests that there are flaws in his game.

Conlan recently had the opportunity to face Emanuel Navarrete for the vacant WBO featherweight title, but he passed on that. And Conlan was previously ranked #1 with the World Boxing Organization 1126 not long ago, but not anymore.

Conlan wants to shut Dogboe up

Image: Michael Conlan vs. Isaac Dogboe agreed for Dec.5 on ESPN

Was Conlan removed from the WBO’s rankings because he failed to fight for the vacant 126lb title? It wouldn’t surprise me. He’s now out of the top 15 rankings with the WBO. Instead, he’s now ranked #6 with the IBF and #12 WBC.

The ranking with the International Boxing Federation would seem to indicate that Conlan is being angled to challenge IBF 126lb champion, Josh Warrington.

“I’m really excited for this fight — [he’s a] former world champion and dangerous guy,” Conlan said to ESPN.

“As soon as it was mentioned, I said, ‘Yes, get it done.’ Isaac likes to talk, and I’m looking forward to shutting him up!”

Conlan will have his work cut out for him to beat Dogboe, especially with his habit of fighting with his hands down. Dogboe will take advantage of Conlan’s low guard if he fights his showboating style. And Dogboe has too high of a work rate for Conlan to get away with fighting the

Dogboe, 26, has only lost to Emanuel Navarrete during his seven-year pro career. In his first fight against Navarrete in December 2018, Dogboe lost a competitive 1 round unanimous decision.

There were a lot of two-way action in that contest, and that was far from being an easy fight for Navarrete. In the rematch last year in May 2019, Navarrete stopped Dogboe in the 12th round. Again, that was another exciting war, and it was one of the better fights in 2019.

Conlan looking good so far

Image: Michael Conlan vs. Isaac Dogboe agreed for Dec.5 on ESPN

In Dogboe’s last fight, he stopped Chris Avalos in the eighth round last July in ‘The Bubble’ at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The Northern Ireland native Conlan recently defeated Sofiane Takoucht and Vladimir Nikitin in his last two fights. Although Conlan won both matches, they showed that he’s a long way away from possessing the talent to compete with Navarrete, Gary Russell Jr, and Josh Warrington.

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You can arguably throw in Dogboe, Can Xu, Jessie Magdaleno, Ruben Villa, and Tugstsogt Nyambayar as fighters at 126 that would likely beat Conlan.

Dogboe vs. Conlan adds to a good undercard with light heavyweight Anthony Yarde (20-1, 19 KOs) taking on unbeaten Lyndon Arthur (17-0, 12 KO).