Clottey Born To Be King

He may not be the most feared fighter. He may not be the most refined fighter. He may not be the most spectacular or the most comprehensive welterweight to don boxing gloves.

However, Joshua Clottey, son of the sport, born of royalty, is a bona fide world champion, a descendant of a bloodline of champion-fighters and trainers. He can hold his own against any fighter in his division and he can light the night with his dynamite hands.

His hands were dynamic enough to open a wide cut under the brow of Judah that "zabbed' the American motormouth into submission, ending Judah's attempt to resurrect from the dead, following two recent losses at the punishing hands of Floyd "Pretty Boy" Mayweather and the recently vanquished Miguel Cotto.

A replay of the dying seconds of his recent fight showed Clottey connecting with a right-hand to Judah's left eye, breaking Judah's skin, blood rushing down his face. Judah claimed he could not see, and evaded further punishment.

Clottey (35-2, 21 KOs), who entered the Judah-fight, ranked No. 1 by the IBF and No. 3 by the WBC, gained a unanimous technical decision after referee Robert Byrd ruled the cut resulting from an accidental clash of heads, before Clottey decisioned Judah by a unanimous verdict.

Other casualties of Clottey's handiwork include the late Diego Corrales, whose wars with Jose Luis Castillo and Casamayor, remain memorable classics.

After conquering Judah – if not for anything at all, for a past sin of verbally abusing Clottey and shoving his trainer, Kwame Asante - Clottey has finally mounted his throne, in full regalia, brandishing his gloves to take out any opponent that questions his reign, even if Judah won't accord Clottey his due respect.

However, the road to glory for the Bronx-based Ghanaian world champion, has been a story of rejection and a litany of mishaps.

I remember Joshua Clottey coming to this author, at my former Graphic Sports desk, prior to the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Canada, along with his big brother Emmanuel, in protest of his exclusion from the final cut of the nation's boxing contingent to the Games.

His charge? He had broken camping rules in the Babangida Invitational in Nigeria, earlier in the year. However, as Emmanuel Clottey recounted, he (Emmanuel) had also broken camp, along with other boxers, who happened to have made the cut.

The fact that Emmanuel Clottey and the other culprits – apart from Joshua Clottey - were included in the final cut betrayed the cause of the boxing authorities and exposed them as vindictive officials, out to exact their pound of flesh.

Eventually, even after Joshua Clottey won a box-off between Moro Tijani and himself, the amateur boxing authorities tried – in vain – to sideline Clottey.

It took a lot of effort on the part of a committee, including this author, some members of the boxing hierarchy, and the direct intervention of then Sports Minister, Enoch Teye Mensah, to ensure Clottey's inclusion in the final cut that made it to the Commonwealth Games that year.

Even so, at the Games, ill-fate followed Clottey. Made to fight at a different weight, Joshua ended up empty-handed, whereas Moro Tijani, who fought at the contested welterweight, won the bronze medal, somewhat vindicating the Ghanaian amateur boxing authorities.

The search for glory continued for Clottey, when he relocated to the UK. An ex-stablemate of retired heavyweight champ, Lennox Lewis, Clottey signed a contract in 1996 with English promoter Panos Eliades.

Clottey suffered a disputed disqualification in London in November, 1999, against Argentina's Carlos Baldomir, who became the WBC International welterweight champion.

Of course, Baldomir progressed to win the WBC and The Ring welterweight world titles on January. 8, 2006, when he dominated Zab Judah in New York City to become the undisputed welterweight world champion.

Then followed another bout of misfortune for Clottey, on December 2, 2006. Joshua broke both hands in a title fight against then WBO welterweight champion, Antonio "Tornado" Margarito, after dominating the early rounds, eventually losing like a gallant warrior.

In spite of that setback, Clottey never looked back, winning four in a row, prior to the Judah fight. He earned the IBF No. 1 ranking and the mandatory challenger status with an R12 decision against Shamone Alvarez in an eliminator in December, 2007, preceding his R5 demolition of Jose Luis Cruz in April, this year.

After his latest conquest of Judah, King Clottey's quest for other conquests stay top of his priority, the number one target being the unfinished business he has with Mexico's Antonio Margarito, the current occupant of the WBA welterweight throne, a throne formerly occupied by a Clottey compatriot, Ike Quartey.

That is a mouth-watering prospect, with colossal ramifications for either fighter.

Until that rematch happens – or does not happen - it is the duty of all true-blue Ghanaian fight fans, including myself, to pay due homage to the new King. Kudos, Team Clottey for your well-deserved honour.

Kudos to all of Clottey's predecessors – David Kotei "Poison, Azumah "Zoom-Zoom" Nelson, Nana Yaw Konadu, Alfred Kotey, Ike Quartey and Joseph Agbeko, for blazing the trail before Joshua ascended his throne to rule over all IBF welterweights in the world!

By Ekow Asmah