Ghana’s Emmanuel ‘Gameboy’ Tagoe defeated Argentina’s Fernando David Saucedo in a controversial 10th round Technical Knockout (TKO), to defend his International Boxing Organisation (IBO) Lightweight belt on Saturday at the Bukom Boxing Arena.
The much-publicized fight failed to live up to expectations as both boxers failed to explode on the night.
Tagoe dominated the early rounds and dropped Saucedo in the 2nd round, but the Argentine beat count.
Saucedo in round three was inactive as Tagoe dominated him with persistent jabs.
Tagoe scored his second knockdown in the fight with a straight right-hand jab into the Argentine’s jaw, but Saucedo again beat the referee’s count.
Tagoe piled pressure on Saucedo in round five, but the former world title contender remained resolute
The Ghanaian, in round six, taunted his opponent with some dancing moves landing some telling punches which forced the Argentine to defend deep.
Round seven was the best moment for Saucedo as he landed some clean shots, but Tagoe didn’t despair as he fired back in a true champion’s fashion.
Tagoe went for a more aggressive tactic in the eighth and ninth rounds looking for a knockout but Saucedo proved too strong as he received Tagoe’s best shots with ease.
In the tenth round, Tagoe pressed and landed a punch on the back of Saucedo’s head before connecting a left hook that sent the Argentine crashing to the mat.
Saucedo rose up and complained to the referee about what he deemed as an illegal blow, but to the surprise of many, referee Roger Banor stopped the fight.
The decision from the referee received a lot of backlash from most of the fans at the Bukom Arena.
Tagoe will now be eyeing a possible unification bout with either the WBA or the WBO lightweight champion.
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By Citi Sports