Losing is part of boxing. It’s not inherently an ending.

Still, it was hard not to wonder if Issac Dogboe was done in just his mid-20s after his second consecutive loss to the larger, relentless Emanuel Navarrette. Before those two fights, it was possible to wonder if Dogboe was the future at Jr. featherweight. 

Now 27, Dogboe’s rebound from his only two defeats continued Saturday night with his fourth straight win at featherweight. 28-year old Joet Gonzalez was 3-2 in his last five starts but both those losses, to Shakur Stevenson and Navarrette, while decisive weren’t the violent sort of losses Dogboe took. It was good matchmaking going in.

It was a good fight in the ring too. 

Dogboe appeared to get off to a good start, weathered turbulence in the fourth, and kept it tight down the stretch to earn the unanimous decision. 

Futures: For Gonzalez, it’s a harsh defeat. Dropping him to 3-3 in his last six, he will look at the cards and wonder if just a little more activity in a couple of rounds changes his fate. In a sport where prominent televised dates often dictate activity, Gonzalez is in a position where there aren’t any easy roads to contention at this point.

That’s not a bad thing for the sport. Wins and losses matter and winners should advance. Gonzalez entered ranked number one at featherweight by the WBO while Dogboe was number two. Theoretically, that could put Dogboe in line for a third fight with the WBO featherweight titlist, Navarrette. That fight isn’t a good idea for anyone but if Navarrette were to move up in weight to Jr. lightweight, Dogboe and Maurico Lara would presumably be the top two contenders for a vacant belt. 

Dogboe is also ranked in the top ten of the WBC and IBF with titlists Rey Vargas and Josh Warrington respectively out there to challenge. Dogboe, small even for a featherweight, might match up better with Warrington than the rangy Vargas. The Ghanaian doesn’t have to rush his featherweight run. Opportunities will come if he keeps winning.

A diminutive veteran who did nothing but win for years is finding out what losing feels like.     

End of the Road for Menayothin?

Strawweight Wanheng Menayothin was 54-0 when he lost the WBC belt at 105 lbs. It was a nice run but never what it could have been, in part because the numbers were made without facing the other beltholders around him.

For years, the two best in class were perceived to be Menayothin and WBA titlist Knockout CP Freshmart. They were reportedly friends outside the ring, but the reality is probably more economic than personal. Belts might not always signify elite status. They do protect earning avenues. The lightest classes don’t typically fetch the sort of purses where unification is an economic must.

Having lost his belt to Petchmannee CP Freshmart, and having lost the rematch, it made a lot more sense to make the fight that didn’t happen when it actually mattered most. In the 2022 version, the younger and sharper Knockout earned lopsided scorecards on Wednesday in Thailand.   

Futures: Now 36, Menayothin drops to 1-3 with 1 no contest in his last five starts. If he elects to step away from the sport, it will be no surprise. He beat a lot of good strawweights in his time and reigned for six years. That’s a fine career and worth a tip of the cap.

The 31-year old Knockout, whose birth name is Thammanoon Niyomtrong, ran his mark to 24-0 and stands out as a pretty clear division leader. He’s been part of the WBA title picture as an interim or full titlist since 2014. The question remains the same as it has been for years: will he get the fights he needs to make his mark on the era? He just got one of them. A unification with Petchamannee wouldn’t be any sort of global superfight but it’s probably the best fight that can be made at strawweight.        

Cliff Rold is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene, a founding member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, a member of the International Boxing Research Organization, and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America.  He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com