Boxer Dogbe Robbed At Games

Spectators at the ExCel Arena in London booed a controversial decision to hand defeat to Ghana’s Isaac Dogboe, despite dominating his bout against Japan’s Shimizu Satoshi.

The judges scored the bout 10-9 in favour of the Japanese Army man to the displeasure of the fans.

Dogboe, 17, started off on a bright note when he aggressively attacked his more experienced opponent, hardly giving the Asian a chance to settle in the first two rounds.

But the judges scored the bout 4-3, 3-2, giving the Ghanaian a little advantage over his opponent before the last round.

Dogboe, visibly looking tired in round three, ducking several times to avoid blows from Shimizu who by then had become very frustrated with the Ghanaian’s antics.

The judges scored round three 5:2 in favour of the Japanese to overturn Dogboe’s lead.

The final announcement was greeted by boos and jeers from the angry crowd, most of whom told this reporter that Dogboe had been robbed.

Dogboe, who was making his debut at the Games, was always expected to face stiff opposition from his opponent who is older, taller, and also had a longer reach.

But on the basis of the bout, he wrote his name in the history books as one of the youngest competitors at the Olympic Games to have shown courage in the face of a big challenge.

Meanwhile, Ghana’s two remaining boxers at the Olympics, Duke Micah and Sulemanu Tetteh, are expected to be in action Monday and Tuesday respectively.

The Olympic Games men's bouts take place over three rounds of three minutes each. Boxers score points for every punch they land successfully on their opponents’ head or upper body.