Ghana’s Isaac Dogboe may be sitting on top of the super bantamweight world now but there was a time on his journey to the top of the mountain when he did not have a place to call home.
The boxer revealed that as he fought all around the world building his reputation and preparing for his shot at winning the WBO Super Bantamweight title, he and his father, Paul, were forced to find shelter in a boxing gym in the United States for a spell.
He stated this in an interview with the BBC’s Mike Costello for the 5LIve Boxing With Costello and Bunce Podcast.
He recounted the experience as he paid homage to his father for guidance, support, counsel and the will to keep going even in the face of the difficulties.
“On the night that I knocked Jesse Magdelano out to become world champion, I stood in the ring and almost shed a tear looking back on everything.
We had been on the road for so long and we almost became homeless.
We went through a few bumps on the way and my father has been a pillar behind me. I had so many memories coming back. I remembered all the times that we had to sleep at the gym when we were in the United States.
We had some managerial challenges and people took everything away. They wanted the house back, they wanted the car back but we still trained.
My dad told me not tell my mum of the problems we were facing. He believed that God being so great, we would pull through. He said that if we could make it through that, we could get through anything.”
Dogboe shed more light on the period when he and his father had no proper accommodation to go to after the long training sessions.
“We slept in the gym for three months. This was in California. There was a supermarket (La Vallarta) right next to the gym so after training, we would get dressed, wait for everyone to leave and we would put the chairs together and sleep and wait for the next session.
It is hard to believe this because we are smiling now but when you dig deeper you will see that a lot has been sacrificed. Today, I see my father and he reminds me that we have to keep going.
He has supported me single-handedly and he has had to borrow from friends and do re-mortgage on the house but after my next fight in December, everything will be settled. 2019 will be our year, it will be fresh start and the world will be our oyster.”
Dogbe is currently in camp in London getting ready for his next title defence with Emmanuel Navarrette on December 8 at the Madison Square Garden in New York.
He will fly out to the US later this week to complete his training.
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By: Nathan Quao/citinewsroom.com/Ghana