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FEATURE: Can Commey, Tagoe survive tough lightweight division?
It’s been almost a year since Richard Commey lost his world title to America’s Teofimo Lopez and still finding it difficult to make a return into the ring.
His absence from the ring has been a worrying development for Ghanaians, especially when he needs tune up fights to stage a comeback for his International Boxing Federation (IBF) lightweight title.
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The inactivity could partly be blamed on COVID-19’s impact on all sporting activities in the world but boxing has resumed in US where he is based.
Commey arrived in his New York base two months ago but is yet to secure a fight before the close of the year. As it stands, it is unlikely for him to make an appearance in the ring this year with just a month left on the calendar.
I know his camp has been trying hard to secure him a fight before the close of year but I am concerned about his chances in the division, especially with the kind of champions and contenders emerging.
Truth be told, Commey must work extra hard to be able to stage a comeback into a tough lightweight division which possesses the likes of Teofimo Lopez, Vasyl Lomachenko, Devin Haney, Ryan Garcia, Luke Campbell, George Kambosos Jnr and Lee Selby.
Division dynamics
Having stopped Commey in two rounds, Lopez opted to unify against the most feared Ukrainian fighter, Vasyl Lomachenko. He went on to dominate the fight and won a unanimous decision on the scorecards.
He currently holds four belts in the division, the IBF, WBO, WBA and WBC 'franchise' title following an emphatic victory on October 17 in New York.
At just 23 years, Lopez has so many years to dominate the lightweight division if he wants. He prefers fighting WBC 'regular' version titleholder Devin Haney in his next fight before moving up in weight.
For Commey to stand a chance of coming back stronger, he must stay active and hope Lopez vacates the belt and move up to light welterweight.
Even with that, he will still have to face strong contenders such as Garcia, Selby, Campbell and Kambosos Jnr to able to make a mark in the division. It is not going to be an easy task for the hard-hitting Ghanaian.
Despite losing to Lopez, Lomachenko remains the second best in the division and Commey must have the balls to defeat him if the need be or pray he moves down to his preferred super featherweight class.
In all these, my major problem has to do with the inactivity on Commey’s part because all the top contenders in the division are staying active.
While Haney is billed to fight Yuriorkis Gamboa on November 7, Kambosos Jnr fought Selby last Saturday. Meanwhile, Garcia will slug it out with Luke Campbell on December 5.
It is really going to be tough for anyone at lightweight should Lopez decide to vacate the titles and move up which is expected to be soon.
Tagoe’s chances
Commey has a compatriot in the division that has been working tirelessly to challenge for the world title but is yet to get a shot.
Emmanuel ‘Gameboy’ Tagoe has been out of the ring since last stopping Ishmael Aryeetey in a contest. Before then, he has defeated former world titlist, Moses Paulus of Namibia and Russia’s Vyacheslav Gusev in 2018 and 2019 respectively.
Those victories made him the mandatory challenger to the WBO crown and relocated to the US to chase that dream but to no avail. His scheduled tune up fight with Filipino Rey Perez in March was cancelled due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Tagoe’s dream has been fading over the years and he doesn’t have age on his side. At 31 years, he should be fighting in world championships but he is yet to make his maiden appearance.
His inactivity in the ring keeps dropping him in the ratings and is not helping. Tagoe’s new team, led by Peter Kahn, must ensure he returns to the ring as soon as possible.
Failure to make a quick return might end his world title dream, especially when so many young contenders are emerging in the division.
I expect to see him in the ring by early January in order to prepare and put him in shape ahead of a potential championship clash. It is however going to be tough for him just as Commey went through to become a champion.
Just as Earl Wilson said, ‘Success is simply a matter of luck. Ask any failure,’ I wish Commey and Tagoe the best in their endeavours as they fight to stay relevant in a very tough division.
