By Cliff Rold 

It feels like there were more.

It turns out there have been eight.

That’s the number of fighters from Ghana who have won one for the major titles in boxing. There have been plenty of contenders over the years but apparently the number who heard the words, “and new…” in a contest for one of the four major sanctioning body titles is relatively small.

It felt like there should be more.

That says a lot about the longest shadow cast in the sweet science from the coastal West African nation. It is a shadow that will come into the ring with newly minted WBO 122 lb. titlist Isaac Dogboe (19-0, 13 KO) this weekend as he attempts his first title defense. Dogboe will face former title challenger Hidenori Otake (Saturday, ESPN, 10:30 PM EST) after making quite an impression in a title winning effort against Jesse Magdaleno in April.

Dogboe came off the floor in the first round to stop Magdaleno in the eleventh. It was impossible not to wonder where he would stand in the shadow almost immediately.

Ghana, with a population of less than 30 million, largely meant one name in the 1980s and a big chunk of the 90s: Azumah Nelson.

The “Professor” made a splash in a valiant 1982 effort against the great Salvador Sanchez in what was the final contest of Sanchez’s tragically short career. Nelson was making only his fourteenth professional start and made it into the fifteenth round, ahead on one of the three judge’s scorecards.

It was Nelson’s only loss during the entire decade. Two years and seven fights after Sanchez, Nelson would stop the great Wilfredo Gomez for the WBC featherweight belt, defend it six times, and then move up to win the WBC belt at super featherweight in 1988. Four more title defenses followed before Nelson made a run at a lightweight title.

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It took an all-time great to beat him the first time. The same was true the second time, Nelson falling short against lightweight champion Pernell Whitaker in 1990. Nelson was just shy of 32 years old going into the Whitaker fight and one could wonder if he was getting near the end. Instead, Nelson would return to 130 lbs. and remain a vital part of the scene there until losing the fourth in a series of fights with Jesse James Leija.

He didn’t win them all but he was damn hard to beat twice. Jeff Fenech appeared to most eyes to outpoint him in a classic 1991 draw; Nelson won the rematch by knockout. Leija held him to a draw the first time they fought in 1993 and won the 1994 rematch, finally ending Nelson’s long reign. Nelson knocked him out in their third, regaining the title with a knockout of Gabe Ruelas in between. Nearing forty, he kept it close in a split decision loss to Genaro Hernandez in his final title fight.

Nelson wasn’t the first Ghanaian boxer to win a world title. That honor goes to David Kotey, who defeated Ruben Olivares for a featherweight belt in 1975. Nelson though stands alone as the only member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame from his home country.

There have been other names over the years that chased the heights Nelson achieved. Ike Quartey had a hell of a run at welterweight, coming up just short against Oscar De La Hoya in 1999. Joshua Clottey got all the way to a big pay-per-view fight with Manny Pacquiao. Joseph Agbeko won a couple of titles at bantamweight and picked up a big win over Vic Darchinyan.

None of them were Nelson.

The shadow endures.

Shadows aren’t a bad thing. They provide a standard to live up to; a position to aspire to. It’s not hard to imagine every fistic hopeful from Ghana in the last thirty years seeking the success of Nelson, hoping to do good enough to join him one day among the greats.

That’s a dream Dogboe has no reason to believe he can’t pursue. He has a long way to go to get there but he doesn’t lack for aspiration. Following his win over Magdaleno, Dogboe was quoted as saying he wanted to win titles in as many as five weight divisions. Standing only 5’2, it might sound a little far fetched but, hey, what the hell?

Dream big.

Dogboe arrives in the Jr. featherweight title scene at a moment of opportunity. There isn’t a clear leader in the class. At 23, Dogboe is as good a candidate as any to seize the position. Of the four major titlists, he is the youngest by a few years; 27-year old Rey Vargas (32-0, 22 KO, WBC), 28-year old Daniel Roman (25-2-1, 9 KO, WBA), and 31-year old TJ Doheny (20-0, 14 KO, IBF) round out the belted field. 37-year old Guillermo Rigondeaux (17-1, 11 KO) can still lay claim to the lineal throne and has never lost in the division.

Nelson never had a chance to unify a title in either of the divisions where he won a title. A clash between Dogboe and Daniel Roman was being tossed around earlier this summer. It’s a great place to start in carving out his own place in Ghana’s boxing history.

First things first. Dogboe has to handle Otake this weekend. If he can keep it as exciting as it was against Magdaleno, he’ll keep adding fans along the way.

Who knows? When Ghana’s ninth world champion arrives, he might be wrestling with the shadow of Dogboe.    

Cliff Rold is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene, a founding member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America.  He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com