By Dan Ambrose: Robeisy Ramirez (11-1, 7 KOs) and Isaac Dogboe (24-2, 16 KOs) will battle for the vacant WBO featherweight title previously held by Emanuel Navarrete on April 1st at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Navarrete (37-1, 31 KOs) has decided to remain at super featherweight after capturing the vacant WBO 130-lb title last Friday night with a ninth round knockout over Liam Wilson in Glendale, Arizona.
The 28-year-old Navarrete will stay in the super featherweight division and take on Oscar Valdez next rather than move back down to 126 and take his chances against the Robeisy vs. Dogboe winner.
It’s a smart decision on Navarrete’s part because the money he’ll make fighting Valdez will likely be a lot more than what he’d get battling the Robeisy-Dogboe winner, which would figure to be the two-time Cuban Olympic gold medalist Robeisy.
“Emanuel ‘Vaquero’ Navarrete confirmed to ESPNKnockOut, which is already at 130 pounds, so I suppose, the fight between Robeisy Ramírez and Isaac Dogboe will be for the vacant WBO Featherweight,” said Salvador Rodriguez of ESPN.
Robeisy, 29, is getting his first world title shot after turning professional in 2019. Understandably, he’s being fast-tracked by his promoters at Top Rank due to his long amateur career in Cuba.
With his amateur pedigree, Robeisy doesn’t need to be brought along slowly as many fighters do. Moreover, he’s up there in age at 29 for a fighter that hasn’t yet fought for a world title, so that’s another reason why he’s being moved fast by Top Rank.
Navarrete didn’t look good last Friday, getting dropped by the little-known Aussie Liam Wilson in the fourth, and seemingly saved by what some boxing fans felt was a slow count by the referee.
Further, Navarrete spit out his mouthpiece as he was being given a count in a move that looked intentional on his part. By the time the action finally resumed, valuable seconds had ticked off the clock, and it may have saved him from being stopped by Wilson because he was really hurt.
Unless Navarrete performs better, he’s going to get stopped by Oscar Valdez because he looks fat and slow at the 130-lb weight. It’s likely that if Navarrete loses to Valdez, he’ll move back down to 126 and attempt to recapture his WBO featherweight belt against the Robeisy vs. Dogboe winner at some point.
Robeisy has looked impressive lately, beating Jose Matias Romero, Abraham Nova, and Eric Donovan. Dogboe has won his last four fights since losing twice to Navarrete.
