Former world WBO super bantamweight champion Isaac Dogboe 24-3 (15) believes he will be too experienced for Nick Ball 18-0 (11) when they clash in a WBC featherweight world title eliminator at AO Arena in Manchester, England on Saturday night.
The 29-year-old Dogboe is looking to bounce back from his unanimous decision defeat to Cuban southpaw Robeisy Ramirez 13-1 (8) for the vacant WBO 126-pound belt in April.
Dogboe has mixed at a much higher level than Bell, claiming the scalps of then-undefeated Jessie Magdaleno and former world title challengers Joet Gonzalez, Christopher Diaz and Chris Avalos.
He also went almost 24 rounds with three-weight world champion Emanuel Navarrete in a brace of losing efforts.
Dogboe admitted he had never heard of Ball, 26, when the fight was first presented to him.
“If it wasn’t for this fight, I wouldn’t have heard of Nick Ball,” Dogboe said. “When the name came up that was when it was put across to me by Top Rank and I had to go look him up. But listen he’s done well and credit to him and his team.
“However, I can only think of what I’m going to do on the night – that’s what is important and that’s what the fans are coming to see.”
Dogboe went through a rebuilding phase after his last fight against Navarrete, a TKO12 loss in April 2019.
After more than a year off to rejuvenate, he returned as a featherweight to knockout Avalos in eight in July 2020.
This fight was followed by a 10-round majority decision over Adam ‘Blunose’ Lopez in June 2021, another majority decision over Diaz in November last year and a split decision over Gonzalez in June last year.
In his last fight against the skillful Ramirez seven months ago, Dogboe was simply outclassed by the better boxing. He was dropped in the final round to lose by scores of 110-117, 108-119 and 109-118.
It was the third loss of his career leaving him with a record of 4-3 in his past seven fights, but Ball is taking a leap in competition from his previous opposition.
“Listen, if you look at my pedigree you know that I come as the whole package. I mean listen, we leave the past in the past,” Dogboe said.
“Always focus on the future and that’s giving the fans a great fight and I’m sure everybody can agree that when I step into the ring it’s guaranteed excitement. So that’s also part of it.
“I’ve been tried and tested. I’ve been in the sea and I’ve swam with the big fishes. This is nothing new to me.
“I’ve fought people who have the pressure, who do everything else by the book and outside of the box. This is something where I need to keep calm and as the fight unfolds make adjustments along the way.”
