Ghanaian boxer, Isaac Dogboe has issued an apology following his defeat to Robeisy Ramirez for the WBO featherweight title.
Dogboe (25-3, 16 KOs) went into the fight with the hope of becoming a two-division world champion but was beaten by the Cuban boxer at the end of the fight.
The 28-year-old had no real chance of taking full control over Ramirez (12-1, 7 KOs), who had the upper hand over the Ghanaian from the first round.
Dogboe, after the fight, pointed out his shortcomings.
“I’ll like to apologise to my coaches and to the people out there who wished me well. We didn’t get the result we wanted. But we’ll definitely be back,” he said.
“I fell short tonight. Congratulations to Robeisy Ramirez, he’s a terrific fighter. He’s a great guy. I was the aggressor [but] I guess I wasn’t aggressive enough.
“I guess I couldn’t push enough as we all would have loved me to push but I’ll be back.”
Taking command in the early stages, Ramirez delivered a hot uppercut that forced Dogboe to clinch in the second round, while the Ghanaian fighter was caught by a succession of precise left hands in the sixth round.
Dogboe dug deep in round eight, lashing back with body shots, but Ramirez kept him at bay with straight left hands before this potent punch knocked his opponent to the canvas in the closing round.
Following 12 rounds of action, the judges were unanimous in their decision, scoring it 117-110, 118-109, 119-108 all in favour of the Cuban, who now claims the vacant WBO featherweight title.
Relive the fight, round-by-round through this thread from our reporter Nathaniel Attoh, who was ringside in Tulsa, Oklahoma.