ISAAC DOGBOE is the unknown former British world champion set to challenge for another title this weekend.
The Ghanaian-born Brit was sent to England by his royal grandfather at the tender age of eight in a bid to guarantee him a university education.
Dogboe did end up getting a first-rate education, as well as schooling in the school of hard knocks as he continued his passion for boxing not long after arriving in London.
And in 2018 – fifteen years after being shipped off to the UK – he became the WBO super-bantamweight champion of the world.
When recalling his move to Britain, he told SunSport: “I was around eight when I moved over here but my dad was already here and I was just coming to join him.
“Ghana to London to Kennington was a shock, I came in September and it was chilly.
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“I had the heating on full blast all the time but going out was cold but I managed to adapt very quickly.
“At some points school was easy but it was tough at the beginning.
“Early on I got in a fight and I went home to my father and he told me off, he told me to walk away and tell the teacher.
“I went back and the next incident was a group of guys who wanted to fight me because I was African.
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“They pushed me in a circle with another guy and just made us fight.
“It was mad, it was totally mad. The guy just started swinging and I was just trying to block and shield myself.
“I went home with black and bloodshot eyes and my father asked what happened.
“I told him I got beat up but that was the last one I had and I have never been beaten up since.”
His reign as WBO 122lbs championed lasted a matter of months as he ended up being dethroned by Mexico’s Emanuel Navarrete.
But he’ll bid to become a two-time world champion this weekend when he takes on Robeisy Ramírez for the vacant WBO featherweight title in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
And the diminutive destroyer is looking forward to proving once again that he’s one of the best fighters in the world.
He told Boxing Scene: “When I was world champion, I had to first win the interim title before I won the main belt.
“It didn’t bother me to have to do that again.
“Proving myself against the best is all that has ever mattered to me.”
Dogboe’s grandfather – the ruler of the Anlo state in the Volta region of Ghana – sadly passed away in 2014 – four years before his world title triumph.
But he believes his the late Torgbui Sri III has looked down proudly on his career.
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He said: “My grandfather passed away in 2014, while I was training in California.”
“I am sure, wherever his soul is, that he is very happy and I hope he is proud.”
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
