WBO super bantamweight champion Isaac Dogboe 20-0 (14) made a statement in his first world title defence with a dramatic first-round stoppage of Hidenori Otake 31-3-3 (14) at the Gila River Arena in Phoenix Arizona on Saturday night.
Early in the opening frame the 23-year-old champion measured a perfectly-timed lead left hook that caught the Japanese veteran square on the button and dropped him heavily to the canvas.
From there it was just a matter of time.
The UK-raised Ghanaian stalked his wounded challenger, nailing him with a counter right cross that sent Otake to the deck for the second time in the fight.
Sensing the end was near Dogboe unloaded on his stunned opponent, opening him up with a left hook followed by an uppercut before pouring on the pressure until referee Chris Flores called a halt to the contest.
It took Dogboe all of two minutes and 18 seconds to stop the WBO number six contender. It was the first time Otake had been stopped in 37 professional fights.
“We contacted all of these other so-called champions and they all failed to sign a contract,” said Dogboe, who claimed the WBO 122-pound title with a stirring 11th round knockout of previously undefeated American Jessie Magdaleno 25-1 (18) in April.
“I’m the new kid on the block. All of these guys out there, let’s do this.”
Team Dogboe wants to unify the division before moving up in weight in the next two to three fights, with WBC champion Rey Vargas and WBA champion Daniel Roman in the frame.
 made a statement in his first world title defence with a dramatic first-round stoppage of Hidenori Otake 31-3-3 (14) at the Gila River Arena in Phoenix Arizona on Saturday night.){kind=link}