How Joshua Clottey Became the Best in the World – A View from the Ringside

Photo by GOA

The referee saw a clash of heads – a phantom of an accidental collision that caused a deep cut that bloodied the man that blinded him that made it impossible for him to continue fighting that caused the fight to be discontinued. But there was no clash of heads. It was a clean, solid left uppercut delivered with the exact same precision that a brain surgeon would apply in the delicate business of dissecting one of the most delicate organs in the human body.
The real clash that we saw in the ring on the day Joshua 'Hitter' Clottey won the IBF welterweight title of the world was one of substance versus fad, discipline versus hype determination versus presumption. Clottey won because he was the one who had the substance, the discipline, and the determination.

Clottey is described in pre-fight compu-stats as a 13 year pro having “……an aggressive style, good skills and movement …has good punching power …… is big and strong ………tough, durable, and determined…. is experienced against top opposition…..”
Weaknesses: Can be too tentative and let himself be overworked …….. prone to head clashes … prone to fouls…”
He's made one unsuccessful challenge for a world title losing to Antonio Margarito after injuring both hands in a fight that he was winning handily. His only other loss was by disqualification to Carlos Baldomir in 1999.

His opponent Zab Judah came in as one with “…… good skills, speed, and movement….punches in combination, has good power …. is experienced against top opposition……” and has held five world titles in a career spanning 11 plus years of drama and controversy . His weakness: can be inconsistent.

Judah entered the ring first to the sound of a raucous rap song (was it hip-hop?) that many probably did not pay attention to the profanity therein.
Clottey came in dancing to a blaring rendition of Ofori Amponsah's “Girl bi ahu me afa me la.” The captivating rhythm and beat electrified the arena and got everyone dancing, cheering, clapping or doing all of the above.

When the fight got under way, it became apparent that Zab's strategy was to use his right jab to keep Joshua at a distance and follow through with occasional left hooks and uppercuts. Evidently, he intended to stay away from the vaunted power of Clottey's right hand.
He kept to this in the early rounds, moving well and squaring off to Clottey's right and throwing combinations that Clottey expertly blocked with his arms and gloves. From where I sat at the ringside I could tell that nothing he threw was getting past Clottey's solid (I mean solid) defenses.

Clottey remained aggressive but patient, in fact too patient for the liking of his trainers who in between rounds came down on him to quit “playing and waiting.”
You could hear trainer Kwame Asante angrily telling him in Ga to “…stop playing…. stop waiting on him…… work the body …… go down and bring your punches up….”
By the fifth round, Clottey's selective power punches to the head were beginning to exact its toll on Zab. He began bleeding in the mouth and nose and appeared very uncomfortable anytime a body blow connected. Meanwhile, Clottey seemed to be getting stronger and more methodical as the fight progressed. He displayed so sound boxing fundamentals that retired heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis working the mikes for HBO praised him for the way he kept his feet in Zab's in-step, a strategy that caused Zab to stumble whenever he tried to counterpunch from the outside.

Breathing heavily and bloodied, Zab tried to waltz his way through the middle rounds by dancing and bouncing off the ropes and throwing occasional flurries off Joshua's gloves and arms.

Then came the fateful ninth round. A well placed left upper cut connected to Zab's head as he pulled away from a hold. A deep cut opened over his right eye. The ring doctor was called in to examine the cut. Based on answers Zab gave during the examination, the doctor concluded that he could not see out of the right eye and the contest should be discontinued.

Clottey's handlers and the handful of his supporters in the arena jumped and screamed for joy. Clottey was hoisted shoulder high by his brother Emmanuel. He had won by TKO!!
Had he? Not yet, says American referee Byrd. He ruled that cut was caused by an accidental clash of heads. By the rules, they had to go to the judges score cards to determine the winner.

The crowd booed at first. Then an eerie hush engulfed the arena as if to say “oh! oh! Here we go again… another robbery is about to be committed.” They had seen what the huge TV monitors in the arena showed – a solid uppercut to the head. But this is boxing. Strange things do happen on score cards.

And then the verdict was announced. All three judges had Joshua comfortably ahead and winning. Truth and fairness had prevailed. Substance had prevailed over hype and the better fighter, the one who wanted and deserved it the most had won. For the second time that night, Clottey and his handful of supporters exploded with joy, this time after American referee Byrd had raised his hand in unquestioned victory.

At long last, Joshua 'Hitter' Clottey's long and storied pursuit of honor and glory in his chosen career had brought him to the pinnacle of success and world domination. And Ghana, the dear country has yet another world title and a hero.

G. Ofori Anor
HBO Translator at the Ringside
NYC/Las Vegas