Last week Javier Fortuna underscored his position as legitimate 135-pound contender by stopping Antonio Lozada. On Friday it was Emmanuel Tagoe’s turn.
The Ghanaian, ranked by three of the four major sanctioning bodies, outboxed Mason Menard to win a majority decision in a 10-round bout on the Danny Jacobs-Gabriel Rosado card at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla.
Tagoe (32-1, 15 KOs) was hoping to make a strong impression in only his second fight in the U.S. and second outside Ghana. He succeeded.
The 31-year-old from the capital city of Accra used his long reach and awkward style to pick apart Menard (36-5, 25 KOs) from the outside for much of the fight.
Menard, who fought with a swollen left eye by the middle rounds, had his most success when he was able to bull inside and let his hands go. However, the quicker, slicker Tagoe generally beat him to the punch and landed cleaner shots.
In Round 8, which the broadcast team said went four minutes, Tagoe hurt Menard but was unable to finish the job.
The scoring wasn’t consistent. One judge had it a 95-95 draw. Another had 98-92 for Tagoe, eight rounds to two. The third also had it for the African, 96-94, accounting for the majority decision.
Tagoe was unable to stop Menard — as Ray Beltran, Devin Haney and Teofimo Lopez did — but he probably made the case that he’s a legitimate opponent for the best lightweights.
