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I punched coconut trees and car tyres – Isaac Dogboe recounts tough path to success

Ghanaian boxer Isaac Dogboe has shot down suggestions that he had an easy path to becoming a world champion.

I punched coconut trees and car tyres – Isaac Dogboe recounts tough path to success

According to the former WBO junior-featherweight champion, he used to punch car tyres and coconut trees in a bid to realise his dream.

Dogboe’s rise on the boxing scene was rapid, as he shot to fame after coasting to a 17-0 record when he turned professional.

Before that, he also boasted an impressive record at amateur level, having won the 2013 Amateur Boxing Association British lightweight title and a silver medal at the African Olympic Qualifying Event.

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The 27-year-old’s highlight came in 2018 when he defeated Cesar Juarez to scoop the vacant WBO interim junior-featherweight title.

That same year, he beat Jessie Magdaleno in a fight staged in the United States to win the full WBO junior-featherweight title.

Dogboe successfully defended his title against Japanese boxer Hidenori Otake before losing it to Emanuel Navarette in May 2019.

Reacting to suggestions by some critics that he had it easy due to his British background, he said he went through tough obstacles like every other Ghanaian boxer.

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“People said Isaac Dogboe got the chance because he was from abroad, but Isaac Dogboe left abroad and came to Ghana,” Dogboe said on Asempa FM, as quoted by Ghanaweb.

“I was mixing with the people in Ghana. They were punching coconut trees. I came to punch coconut trees. They were punching car tyres. I came to punch car tyres. We have a beach, we have sand, I was running there, they were also running there."

He further explained: “The difference between me and them is that I stuck to it. It's your lifestyle and your day-to-day activity. But after all these, I pray to God for progression because I don’t know it all but small, small.

“I want them to understand that… the very things that are on this land are what I’m also using, so you have to start questioning yourself about whether I'm doing right.”

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Meanwhile, Dogboe recently earned himself a shot at the WBC title after defeating Joet Gonzalez in by a split decision last month.

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