Isaac Dogboe took his biggest step towards the title at £126 on Saturday.
The former 122-pound tennis player from Ghana had a quick start and then overcame a rally from Joet Gonzalez to win a 10-round match Saturday night at Grand Casino Hinckley in Hinckley, Minnesota.
The fight was seen as a WBC title knockout even though Dogboe and Gonzalez were ranked 5th and 6th respectively.
Dogboe (24-2, 15 KOs), the lower boxer, controlled the first few rounds with a dash, a combination of idling and lunging while Gonzalez delivered relatively few punches.
However, by Round 4, while Gonzalez stabbed Dogboe with his right hand, the Los Angeles boxer increased his work rate and knocked the opponent for most of the rest of the match.
That made for some very difficult back-to-back innings, although Gonzalez clearly did his best in the second half of the game.
The fight seemed to be in doubt as the bell rang for the final round, in which the warriors stood foot by foot and emptied their respective gas tanks.
All three judges respectively gave a score of 96-94, two for Dogoe and one for Gonzalez. Dogboe won the 10th game with all three cards, giving him the win.
Dogboe has now won four straight games since he lost to Emanuel Navarrete in head-to-head matches in 2018 and 2019, the second time by knockout.
However, his last three games have all been largely decisive for Adam Lopez and Christopher Diaz, and now a split decision for Gonzalez.
Meanwhile, Gonzalez (25-3, 15 KOs) was hoping for a third chance at the featherweight title after two disappointments. However, he has now lost 3 of his past 5 matches. He will have to rebuild.
