I Was Scared Of The Fight - Clottey's Mum

After her son won the IBF welterweight title in Las Vegas, USA, Joshua Clottey's mother, Madam Memuna Ansah, has revealed that she did not watch her son's fight.

“First of all my sons and I are Muslims so I decided to go and offer prayers of supplication at the mosque near the Jamestown Palace with four close friends of mine. I knew it would be a tough fight so I wept and asked Allah to see my son through. I was praying when I heard somebody say that Joshua had won. I first thanked Allah because I knew that it was by his grace that this victory came,” she said.

Joshua's mother was immediately mobbed by fans of her son as she left the mosque. “I kept acknowledging cheers as I walked through the route to my house. I have also been receiving congratulatory phone calls, as well as receive friends.

According to the 52-year-old mother, before her son left Accra for New York her parting words to him were: “Johsua, you have to win this title.” She further narrated that her son quickly responded saying he was even hungrier to win the title.

In Madam Memuna's view, winning a world title in boxing is like completing one's education at the university because it crowns all the years of toil and hardwork. “I want him to be a champion for the next two decades because I want to enjoy the good benefits that come with his being a champion. It is my wish that even when he is 60 God will give him strength to be fighting,” she said.

According to her it was Emmanuel, Joshua's big brother, who started boxing early. She said she used to be a cultural dancer so Joshua followed in her footsteps.

On one occasion, she said when Emmanuel was going to fight in Kumasi Joshua insisted that he wanted to go along and become a boxer too.

“That day, Joshua cried and vowed to stop Emmanuel from leaving home if he was not sent along. So after some months of resistance, especially from his father, we finally allowed him to pursue his dream. One Coach Wutor Anyador is responsible for giving them their foundation in boxing, and also saw to their education. I will forever remain grateful to Coach Anyador for training my children to become such good boxers, ” she said.

Joshua and his big brother decided to quit school and go into boxing full time because they said they wanted to travel around the world and become champions. One-time Chairman of the Ghana Amateur Boxing Association (GABA) then assumed responsibility of the two young boys and started promoting them.

“Joshua always used to tell me that he would grow bigger than Emmanuel and beat all boxers who come his way to become a world champion. Ex-WBA welterweight champion, Ike 'Bazooka' Quartey, also believed in Joshua and always used to encourage me to allow them pursue their boxing dreams because he believed that they could also become like him,” she said.

Madam Memuna also says she is looking forward to giving her son a warm welcome on the day of his arrival.

Story by Nathaniel Attoh