Boxing Preview, July 23rd
Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images
No beating around the bush; it’s a light week this week as boxing goes on its summer break, but the one notable card we do get has an interesting and potentially action-packed headliner with a decent co-main, so let’s take a look at those.
Joet Gonzalez vs Isaac Dogboe, 130lbs
This featherweight affair sees the fighters square off in a final eliminator which is also, for both, hopefully the final step in a mission of revenge- both fighters having losses on their record to the current holder of the WBO belt in question, Emmanuel Navarette (Dogboe twice, at 122lbs, Gonzalez once, last year, at 126). In some ways, their losses were similar (though Dogboe’s, particularly the second, more of an absolute shitkicking)- both had trouble running through the firing line of Navarette’s exceptional mid-range punch arsenal to deliver their own work closer in. Since, against each other, that isn’t going to be as much of a problem, we’ll hopefully see something of an in-the-pocket tear-up as each tries to impose himself there.
Between the two of them, Gonzalez is the more directly aggressive fighter, coming in behind a jab and high guard, seeking to build up some combinations, whereas Dogboe is about sliding back a bit, with low hands and a shoulder roll, before reversing direction and trying to surprise the opponent with heavily-loaded shots.
One of the deciding factors of the fight will be whether Dogboe has managed to smooth out one of the key things that got him in trouble against Navarette- namely, in those fights, there wasn’t any real connection or setup between his backward movement and leaping forward, allowing the Mexican to catch him unguarded as he switched directions. He does appear to have been working on that, but Gonzalez is the best opponent he’s faced since then (and of course at that higher weight, though he isn’t notably bigger than Navarrete), so whether he can keep himself safe and successfully disguise his shots enough to walk Gonzalez onto them will be a key part here. If he can’t he may find himself being forced backwards into the ropes while out of stance, which would spell trouble.
Another key battlefield will be the bodywork. Gonzalez works it keenly himself, but with his fairly static high guard he doesn’t defend it particularly well, and may find his guard getting picked apart as he reacts to Dogboe’s own bodyshots. By contrast, Dogboe’s hands-down style has the virtue of offering more protection in that area, and may put the Brit in position to land counters up top while Gonzalez is trying to find shots downstairs.
All in all, this is a good matchup of styles and a tough one to call, maybe leaning to Gonzalez purely on being a more natural 126lber- but Dogboe hasn’t looked out of place at the weight so far.
Gabriel Flores Jr vs Giovanni Cabrera, 135lbs
The co-main here is between two rising fighters in the super-featherweight division- Cabrera is 20-0 but at 28 years old needs to get a move on if he wants to be a player at the weight, whereas Flores has a loss on the record - 21-1- but at 22 has more time on his side to get things together. Cabrera is though building his way into this division, having previously fought at featherweight but taking a two year break after his last fight there in 2019, returning this year at 135 with a pair of rust-shaking 8 rounders- so it’s not yet clear how well he’ll handle the weight against this level of opponent.
Stylistically both tend to lean towards fighting off the back foot, so it’ll be interesting to see if one can goad the other into making the step forward. Cabrera would seem to be the more likely candidate for that, as he’s best described as a volume counterpuncher, eager to throw extended combinations, so he might be the one to bite.
In any case, this might be a battle of who finds the other’s weak spots first. Cabrera throws a lot, but he gets flat-footed while doing so and leaves his chin in the air. Flores meanwhile has a defence based on head movement and using shoulder rolls and slips to load up powerful counters- which should give him openings to catch that chin, but his one loss did come from that movement being a bit overwhelmed and taking him out of stance after the first couple of shots in a combination, so if he can’t back Cabrera off or drop him, he might find himself coming undone a bit. Cabrera doesn’t carry much power, though, meaning he’d have to do that multiple times to have serious effect, and being in danger every time he goes for it so the smart pick probably leans Flores’ way on this one.