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‘NeHo’ Dogboe, what next?
• Dogboe – Can the nation still wait for another world title from him?
Ghanaians a fortnight ago woke up Sunday morning to the upsetting news that the nation’s world title boxing hopeful – Isaac ‘Royal Storm’ Dogboe, had lost in his intrepid bid to become champion again.
Dogboe staggered and slumped to two-time Cuban Olympic gold medallist Robeisy “El Tren” Ramirez 117-110, 118-109 and 119-108 for the vacant WBO featherweight title at Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Tulsa in the United States.
After losing his super-bantamweight title few years ago – specifically on December 8, 2018, in back-to-back defeats to Emanuel Navarrete, the Ghanaian vigorously bounced back to blow out the likes of Chris Avalos, Adam Lopez, Christopher Diaz and Joet Gonzalez in his last four fights. Remarkable feats!
A new Dogboe was born, supposedly. It was not difficult at all for a generous prediction to be posted in favour of the Ghanaian aggressive boxer – with many pencilling him down for greatness again.
At least, scores of the sport’s experts favoured him to punch his way to reclaiming his belt, especially when
his nemesis – Emmanuel Navarrete, had moved up in weight, and was entirely out of his path to another stardom.
It was a huge set-back, therefore, when Dogboe failed heavily in his bid to become champion again after losing unanimously to Ramirez.
Watching the fight closely, it seems – even though Dogboe has improved prettily well under top trainer Barry Hunter, he is still short of endurance, power and ring-craftiness.
In most of his bouts, you see a boxer that begins ferociously and runs out of steam as the fight progresses. His stamina level has been suspect; his guard impressively powder-puffed and his ring-craftiness a bit dawdling. He throws an avalanche of punches with many going astray – and it is a worry that never gets settled.
That notwithstanding, though he lost against Ramirez, the wide difference on the scorecards of the judges, looks a bit questionable. He did enough to get a close call. But that should tell Dogboe that he needs to take his ‘judges’ into the ring through a more convincing performance than what he demonstrated two weeks ago. He must not leave anything to chance.
Indeed, it is high time Dogboe sat and took a good look at his fight-style and perhaps re-strategize if he still wants to be relevant in the sport – especially at the fiercely thrilling featherweight division.
He must work his tail off and live by his special motto: “NeHo!”
NeHo, in the Ewe language, means to uproot, to lift oneself through adversity.
“NeHo is something I use because, regardless of the situation in the ring – or any situation – you have to keep coming forward; you never give up. You uproot and accomplish your mission,” Dogboe told The Ring magazine recently.
“Neho, to me, helps psyche myself up. You’re going to go through difficulties in the ring but how do you do that?
“You have to psyche yourself up to where you think nothing can get in your way. People may misinterpret the word, that to uproot and destroy everything there. But if the military is going on the battlefield, your soldiers are scared; believe me. But the leader will give them something to recite and that’s the word that I use to keep coming forward and digging deep – and I keep saying that my head, ‘NeHo, NeHo, NeHo.’”
So, it is time Dogboe take a firm decision either to do the ‘Neho’ now or think about hanging the gloves. And, that decision must be fast because at 28 years, age is steadily but speedily catching up with him in the featherweight category.
By John Vigah
Member of Parliament for Akuapem North, Sammy Awuku, has expressed deep sorrow following the sudden passing of Isaac Batsa, the constituency secretary for the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) lawmaker issued a statement on Tuesday reacting to the news, which has shocked the local political community.
Mr.Awuku praised the late NDC secretary for his bipartisan approach to local governance.
He noted that despite their different political affiliations, Batsa consistently rose above party lines to serve the constituency with diligence.
The MP revealed that the news was particularly shocking given that he had last interacted with Batsa just three days prior on Saturday.
Concluding his statement, Sammy Awuku extended his heartfelt condolences to Batsa’s family, the constituency and regional executives, and the entire NDC fraternity, wishing the deceased peaceful eternal rest.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
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Attorney General charges Chairman Wontumi and two others over alleged GH¢18.7 million Ghana Exim Bank fraud
The Office of the Attorney General has charged Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, and two others over the alleged fraudulent acquisition of funds from the Ghana Export-Import Bank for a farming project.
The charges were brought against Chairman Wontumi, Thomas Antwi-Boasiako, who is currently at large, and Wontumi Farms Limited.
According to court documents released by the Attorney General’s office, Chairman Wontumi, identified as the first accused person, allegedly approached the Ghana Exim Bank in January 2018 for financial support to undertake a large-scale farming project.
The prosecution said he applied for a GH¢19 million facility on behalf of Wontumi Farms Limited and claimed that the company had secured a 100,000-acre parcel of land for the proposed farming venture.
The Attorney General alleged that documents submitted together with the application contained false information.
According to the prosecution, one of the documents presented as a board resolution letter was dated January 23, 2018, but referred to a board resolution supposedly passed on December 9, 2017, four days before the company was officially incorporated on December 14, 2017.
The prosecution further stated that the accused persons also submitted a project proposal claiming that 2,500 hectares of the proposed farm would employ about 6,000 families, representing nearly 38,000 individuals.
Court documents indicate that the Ghana Exim Bank later approved an GH¢18.7 million facility made up of loans and grants for the project.
The facility was reportedly intended for the purchase of agricultural machinery, working capital, staff costs and consultancy services.
According to investigators, the bank disbursed more than GH¢14.3 million to the company between January and March 2018.
However, investigations by the Economic and Organised Crime Office of the Attorney General allegedly found that the proposed farming activities were never carried out.
The prosecution said the accused persons neither purchased the agricultural machinery nor secured the land they claimed to own for the project.
Investigators also alleged that Chairman Wontumi later submitted a document to the bank as proof that the company had purchased agricultural machinery worth GH¢4 million.
However, investigations reportedly established that the document was originally a pro-forma invoice from KAS-SAMA Enterprise and not an actual receipt.
According to the Attorney General’s office, the inscription “Pro-forma Invoice” was allegedly altered and replaced with the word “Receipt” before it was submitted to the bank.
The prosecution further alleged that Chairman Wontumi withdrew large sums from the company’s accounts and used the funds for personal expenses and investments in other businesses.
The Attorney General stated that attempts by the bank to recover the money were unsuccessful.
The Economic and Organised Crime Office reportedly began investigations into the matter in March 2025.
Chairman Wontumi was later arrested, cautioned and officially charged on May 14, 2026.
By: Jacob Aggrey
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