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Ranking the greatest Ghanaian boxers


BoztheMadman
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Ok guys...think we are getting towards the end of these threads! I don't know if I'm gonna make another one, so this might well be the last one. The problem is, they can be exhausting to do, as I feel I have to give enough info about each fighter, instead of just listing their greatest achievements. I've considered doing the latter, but it is more fun like this, despite also being exhausting. Ok, get ready for the list on the greatest Ghanaian boxers! This country is far from the largest in Africa in terms of size, but it has given more world champions and world class boxers than any other African country, save perhaps for South Africa. That I still have to check up on, but I think SA actually is ahead. However, SA also had many outstanding white boxers, while Ghana only had their own original guys. Ghanaian boxers were always known for their incredible toughness and gameness. Let's start!

 

1. Azumah Nelson

 

There is absolutely no doubt that this guy deserves to be at no.1. Despite Ike Quartey's achievements and worth as a fighter, Nelson simply achieved more and was arguably the better of two. He won 3 world titles, 1 at feather and 2 at super feather. Nelson was known as "The Professor" because of his boxing skills, but also had the knockout punch and a very good speed and coordination. Hailing from Accra, the capital, Nelson turned pro in 1979, aged 21, and after winning only 13 fights, he got to fight the man himself at 126: Salvador Sanchez. It was an unforgettable fight which happened 21 July 1982 at MSG and both guys got in plenty of leather, but Sanchez proved to have more left in the tank and stopped Nelson in the 15th round by TKO. After Sanchez tragically died in an auto accident soon thereafter, the WBC title became vacant and Nelson then won it by sensationally stopping the great Wilfredo Gomez by KO11 in front of his own countrymen in San Juan, Puerto Rico. That was in December 1984 and Nelson would reign until 1987, making 6 defenses. Among those he beat were Pat Cowdell (KO1), Marcos Villasana (MD12 and UD12), Danilo Cabrera (TKO10) and Mario Azabache Martinez (SD12). He then vacated the title to move up to 130 and then won the WBC belt there in his next fight, stopping Martinez by TKO12 in February 1989. He also knocked out Jim McDonnell in 12 in his first defense and then moved up to 135 for the superfight against Pernell Whitaker, 19 May 1990 in Vegas. Although he did rather well, Whitaker was simply too clever and too hard to hit, and he lost by rather close UD. He continued defending his title and defended it 10 times in all, also decisioning Juan LaPorte, drawing controversially against Jeff Fenech and then stopping him by TKO8 and also beating the young Gabriel Ruelas by MD in 1993. He finally lost the title to Jesse James Leija in 1994, by UD12. After Leija lost the title to Ruelas, Azumah then stopped Ruelas by TKO5 to recapture the title and then in 1996 he avenged the loss to Leija by stopping him in 6 rounds. He finally lost the title to Genaro Hernandez by SD in March 1997. After losing another fight to Leija in 1998, he retired, only coming back for another fight against Fenech in 2008, which he lost by MD10. His record is 38 wins, 27 by ko, 6 losses and 2 draws. He has only been stopped by Sanchez. In 2004, he was inducted into the IBHOF, so far the only Ghanaian to have that honor.

 

2. Ike Quartey

 

Known as "Bazooka" for his deadly jab, Quartey comes from Bukom, the suburb of Accra which has given us several outstanding fighters. He was a magnificent physical specimen, standing at about 5'9 which is a good height for a welter, equipped with that awesome jab but also good boxing skills and power, not of the one-punch sort but still good enough to take you out in not too long. Quartey burst on the scene in 1994 after defeating then-WBA champion Crisanto Espana by TKO11 in France. He would enjoy a good championship reign and make 7 defenses. His first noted victory came in 1996 when he stopped Vince Phillips in 3 rounds, which nobody else did. Later that year, he had his first true test against Oba Carr but was impressive and prevailed by a majority decision in what most agreed should've been unanimous decision. After knocking out the 30-1 Ralph Jones in 5, in October '97 he fought the dangerous boxer-puncher Jose Luis Lopez and was down once in the second and twice in the eleventh round, but managed to last the distance and escaped with a majority draw. It was the first sign that he had started to slip, despite Lopez being a world class material. Quartey alledgedly fought with a flu, which was blamed for his poor performance. After being inactive for about a year, he was then stripped of the title in October 1998. On 13 February next year, he fought Oscar De La Hoya for his WBC title. The fight was a classic and both guys went down, Quartey in the 6th and the 12th, and De La Hoya in the 6th. In the end, the champion got a split decision victory in a fight where quite many had Quartey winning, however the same can be said about DLH. That fight marked the end of his prime. He was absent for a year before fighting Fernando Vargas for the IBF super welter title in April 2000 and losing to him by UD, in a brave fight where he was in the end outgunned by the younger and stronger man. Quartey then retired at the age of 30, but came back in 2005 and beat Verno Phillips by UD10 in a hard fight where he was down once, before losing a controversial decision to Vernon Forrest, a much bigger man, in August 2006. His last fight was on 2 December that year, against Ronald Winky Wright, and Quartey simply got outboxed and also dropped once, losing a convincingly wide decision. He was now 37 and he retired with a record of 37 wins, 32 by ko, 4 losses and 1 draw. He was named The Ring magazine's 2005 Comeback Fighter of the Year.

 

3. Nana Yaw Konadu

 

One of the first Ghanaian and African world champions below 126, Konadu was a tremendous warrior and a good puncher, who tangled with the best and often won. Hailing from Sunyani, northwest Ghana, he turned pro in 1985 and in November 1989 won the WBC super fly title by UD12 against Gilberto Roman. He lost it in his first defense to great Sung Kil Moon, by TD9, in a fight where Konadu was down thrice and Moon twice. In 1991 they had a rematch but Konadu performed poorer this time and was stopped by TKO4. It took him 5 years to get back to world title glory, when he came off the deck to stop Veeraphol Sahaprom in 2 rounds, winning the WBA bantam title, in January 1996. However, he again lost the title in his first defense, by a controversial TD10 to Daorung Chuwatana, fighting away in Thailand. He beat Chuwatana by TKO7 in the rematch to recapture the title. He made one successful defense this time, easily winning by KO2 against Abraham Torres in Argentina, before fighting Johnny Tapia on 5 December 1998 and losing to the more clever man by MD12. Next year, he beat the former WBC champion Hector Acero-Sanchez on points and then in May 2001 he fought his last fight against Daniel Seda, for the WBA Fedelatin feather title, getting stopped by TKO9. Had he won, he would have gone on to fight Derrick Gainer for his WBA belt. Konadu was 37 when he retired, with a record of 41 wins, 32 by ko, 5 losses and 1 draw.

 

4. David Kotey

 

Known mostly for his great upset victory over Ruben Olivares, this guy was a tremendous puncher who was true world class stuff, but he simply got outdone by one of the toughest and best featherweights ever: Danny Lopez. Kotey also comes from Bukom and he turned pro in 1966. After losing two fights on points early on, in 1974 he made his mark for real when he knocked out the Tunisian puncher Tahar Ben Hassen in 1 round to capture the African feather title. In December that year, he also won the Commonwealth title by stopping Evan Armstrong by TKO10 at home in Accra. He got to fight Olivares, then-WBC champion, on 20 September 1975 at the Forum in Inglewood, LA. Kotey, known as "Poison", proved to be that for Olivares and he shocked the many Mexican fans present by first dropping the champion in the first round with a left hook and cutting him in round 12, before going on to win by SD15. The decision sparked a riot. Kotey thus became the first Ghanaian world champion ever. In 1976, he made two successful defenses, first stopping Flipper Uehara by corner retirement in 11 and then knocking out Shig Fukuyama in 3. He lost the title on 6 November that same year, when he was down in round 11 and lost by UD to Danny Lopez, at home in Accra. After winning 4 fights, he went to Las Vegas to fight Lopez again and this time he was stopped by TKO6 by the fearsome puncher. That was 15 February 1978 and the end of "DK Poison's" greatness. He retired and unretired three times before finally hanging them up in 1989, after losing to a no-name by KO3. He was almost 39 then and had a record of 49 wins, 31 by ko, 8 losses and 3 draws.

 

5. Joseph Agbeko

 

Perhaps the best Ghanaian boxer in this century, Agbeko has won the IBF bantam title twice and the second time lost it in a very controversial manner. Agbeko is/was a pressure fighter, not a true puncher although he has some pop, who has good boxing skills and is also very tough, of course. His greatest victory was when he beat Vic Darchinyan in 2009, in a defense of his IBF title. Agbeko hails from Accra and he became a pro in December 1998, aged 21. After winning 17 fights, in September 2001 he beat Michael Kizza by TKO2 to win the WBF bantam title. In May 2004 he lost to Volodymyr Sydorenko by majority decision, in what was his first loss in 22 fights. In October that year he won the Commonwealth title, but then had a layoff for almost 3 years, coming back in March 2007. On 29 September that year, he fought Luis Alberto Perez, who held the IBF title and previously had held the IBF super fly one as well, in Sacramento, California. Agbeko soundly dominated the fight and Perez had to retire following round 7. Agbeko was at the time ranked at only #15, only by the IBF, so it was viewed as a big upset. He then defended his title against William Gonzalez in a dirty fight where both used foul tricks, in the end winning by MD. And then came his greatest achievement, on 11 July '09, when he defeated Vic Darchinyan by a close UD. As usual, Agbeko used his head a lot and cut Darchinyan over both eyes, but only one cut was confirmed to be from a butt. Only 3 months later, 31 October, he lost the title to Yonnhy Perez, who dropped him once and won by a clear UD. He reclaimed the title in the rematch on 11 December '10, when he beat Perez by UD. It was on 13 August next year that he lost the title under very controversial circumstances to Abner Mares. Agbeko wobbled Mares in round 4 but Mares constantly threw low blows, unwarned and supported by referee Russell Mora. Agbeko was down from a low blow in the 11th, but Mora recognized it as a legit knockdown. In the end, Agbeko lost by a close majority decision. They had a rematch on 3 December and despite cutting Mares with a punch on the eyebrow, Agbeko lost by the score of 118-110 from all judges. He then broke with Don King and didn't fight until 2013, when he won the IBO super bantam title by UD against Luis Melendez. On 7 December he fought the WBA and WBO champion Guillermo Rigondeaux in Atlantic City and was outclassed, losing every round on all scorecards. Agbeko was now 36 and clearly not at his best anymore. He however continued to fight and had his last fight in 2019. In 2018 he won the WBO African bantam title. He is still listed as active and his record is 37 wins, 27 by ko, and 5 losses.

 

6. Joshua Clottey

 

Clottey never fully realized his potential, as he was a very talented and clever fighter, but perhaps didn't stay focused enough or didn't work hard enough always. He most sensationally beat Zab Judah by technical stoppage to win the IBF welter title in 2008, but never defended it and vacated it after 8 months. Clottey is another Bukom-product and turned pro at still 17, in March 1995. He was as mentioned technically slick and sound and rather strong for his size, and had a substantial amount of power. After winning his first 20 fights, in November 1999 he got disqualified against Carlos Baldomir, fighting for the WBC International welter title. In July 2004, he won the minor NABC title by TKO5 against Christopher Henry in USA. He also won the interim WBC Continental Americas super welter title and the IBF Inter-Continental welter title (against 21-0 Richard Gutierrez, by MD12), before facing Antonio Margarito, for his WBO title, 2 December 2006 in Atlantic City. Early on, Clottey outboxed the crude Margarito, but in the fourth round he suffered an injured left hand, and after that Margarito pretty much took over, even tho the fight remained competitive. Margarito won by a clear UD. On 7 April next year, he scored his first big victory when he beat Diego Corrales in Corrales' last fight and the first one at 147. He dropped the taller Corrales twice before winning by UD10. After winning the IBF eliminator vs then-undefeated Shamone Alvarez by UD and stopping Jose Luis Cruz by TKO5, he fought Zab Judah for the IBF belt on 2 August 2008. Clottey hurt Judah twice and cut him over the right eye so severely that the fight had to be stopped during round 9. Clottey went on to win by a technical decision and was now the IBF champion. He vacated the title for unknown reasons and fought Miguel Cotto for the WBO belt instead, 13 June 2009 at MSG. Clottey was down in round one but came back to give Cotto a very tough and close fight. In the end, Cotto won by a split decision. That was pretty much the end of Clottey as a serious contender and next year he dropped a wide UD to Manny Pacquiao in a fight where he appeared very passive. His record is now 41 wins, 24 by ko, and 5 losses. He now fights as a middleweight, but at 42, has achieved pretty much everything he could.

 

7. Alfred Kotey

 

The much younger brother of David, Alfred was a talented boxer who captured a world title but after losing it, his career pretty much consisted of fighting bigger names and losing to them on points, even though he never embarrassed himself. He first won the Commonwealth fly title in 1989 and then, on 30 July 1994, he faced Rafael Del Valle, who had previously taken the WBO bantam title from Duke McKenzie by KO1. It was at Bethnal Green's York Hall that Kotey became the champion after beating Del Valle by the scores of 116-111, 118-111 and 116-112. He first defended the title against Armando Castro and again won by UD and then in his second defense he stopped Drew Docherty by TKO4. Kotey fought in England after winning the title and lost it to Daniel Jimenez by a mostly close UD, 111-116 and 113-114 twice. In December 1995 he won the WBC International title by SD against Freddy Cruz. In November 1997, he fought Juan Manuel Marquez for the WBO NABO feather title and lost to him by UD, 110-117 from all judges. In 2001, he became the first man to last the distance against Acelino Freitas, in a fight for Freitas' WBO super feather title, but was outclassed by the younger man. In 2003, he fought Orlando Salido and had him down once, but lost by UD10. Kotey's last fight was in 2012 and he was stopped by RTD3 by Frederick Lawson. He ended his career with a record of 26 wins, 17 by ko, 16 losses and 1 draw. He was only stopped once, in that last fight. He has also fought the young Victor Ortiz in an 8-rounder in 2006. Sadly, Alfred Kotey died on 30 June this year, from complications following a stroke. He was only 52.

 

8. Richard Commey

 

So far the last world champion from Ghana, Commey is an outstanding lightweight, who twice lost by very close decisions and once by a quick ko, against Teofimo Lopez of course. Commey hits hard and is a good all-around boxer who at 5'8 is also rather tall for a lightweight. Commey was born in Accra and turned pro in 2011, aged 24. He first won the IBF Continental Africa light title by KO7 against Bilal Mohammad, in 2013. In July 2014, he went to England and York Hall to score his by then best victory over Gary Buckland, by a clear UD. He thus won the Commonwealth title. On 9 September 2016, he fought against Robert Easter jr (then 17-0) for the vacant IBF title. It was a great fight where Commey dropped Easter once, but in the end lost by a controversial split decision. In his very next fight, he again lost the same way, against Denis Shafikov. On 2 February 2019, he finally realized his dream and won the vacant IBF title against Isa Chaniev by TKO2. He made one defense of it by knocking out Raymundo Beltran in 8 in June, before losing it to Teofimo Lopez 14 December, at MSG. After a rather even first round, in the second round Commey threw a right hand but Lopez's countered with a left hook and Commey fell to the canvas. After being battered against the ropes for about 15 seconds, the fight was stopped. His record is now 29 wins, 26 by ko, and 3 losses, 1 by ko.

 

9. Isaac Dogboe

 

Dogboe was an outstanding amateur who won the 2011 junior ABA championships silver medal, the 2013 ABA Elite championships gold and participated at the 2012 Olympics in London, getting eliminated in the first round.by eventual bronze medallist Satoshi Shimizu. He turned pro in August 2013 and won his first 20 fights. He won the WBO African feather title in 2015 by RTD7 against George Krampah. In January 2018, he won the interim WBO super bantam title by TKO5 against Cesar Juarez. He then fought the reigning WBO champion Jessie Magdaleno on 28 April and after being down in the first round, decked him once in the fifth and twice in the eleventh to win by a sensational KO. Also his first defense was impressive, as he dispatched the Japanese challenger Hidenori Otake by TKO1. However, he ran into his Kryptonite when he faced Emanuel Navarrete, 8 December same year. It was at MSG and Navarrete outlanded Dogboe to win by the scores of 115-113 and 116-112 twice. They had a rematch 11 May next year in Tucson, Arizona, and this time Dogboe got stopped for the first time by TKO12, after being down in the sixth and twelfth round. He came back on 21 July this year and stopped Chris Avalos by TKO8. His record is currently 21 wins, 15 by ko, and 2 losses.

 

10. Ben Tackie

 

Tackie is mostly known for his amazing comeback victory against Robert Garcia in 2000. He was a guy capable of pulling a turnaround knockout, but was sometimes not focused enough perhaps and could be outboxed by the best boxers. He also hails from Accra but lives in Bronx, NY. A tall light welter at 5'9, Tackie turned pro in May 1994. He won his first 18 fights and won the African lightweight title by TKO9 of Isaac Nyaku in 1995. He started fighting in USA in 1997 and in April next year won the IBA Americas light title by another come from behind knockout in 10 rounds against Edwin Santana. He was losing on all cards. He then stopped Louie Leija by TKO9 to win the IBF Intercontinental light title. In January 1999, he experienced his first loss when he dropped a decision to Gregorio Vargas, in a fight for the IBA Americas light title. He was absent until next year, when he decisioned Golden Johnson by UD10 in March. It was on 3 June that year that he produced what was later named the KO of the Year by The Ring, when he came back after being outboxed by Robert Garcia and put him down in rounds 9 and 10 to win by a TKO, in fight which was aired on Showtime. He also knocked out the washed up former champion Freddie Pendleton in 1 round. After dropping a SD10 to John John Molina, he scored his second best victory in 2001 when he beat Ray Oliveira by MD10 to win the NABF light welter title. He made one defense of it by stopping Teddy Reid by TKO5, before fighting the undisputed champion Kostya Tszyu, 18 May 2002 in Vegas. It was a tough fight and both fighters bled around the mouth and had welts under the eye, but Tszyu was dominant and outjabbed Tackie, who lasted till the final bell and lost by the scores of 119-108 and 120-108 twice. He then lost to Sharmba Mitchell in another IBF-eliminator, by UD12, by almost equally-wide scores and was down for the first time in his career. In 2003, he also lost to Ricky Hatton in a WBU title fight. Tackie's prime was now spent and he fought till 2015 but without any significant success. He retired with a record of 31 wins, 18 by ko, and 13 losses, one by ko, in his last fight.

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--- You write in love, Boz. You'll be back for more.

 

Corrie Sanders has the biggest scalp of the 3rd millenium and Gerrie Coetzee before him.

 

Well, I already done a thread on South African boxing. I would hate to repeat myself but maybe I will do one on them too, a ranking ofc. :wave:

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I always thought that Nelson got ripped off against Hernandez. Knocks him out with the last shot of a combination that lands literally as the bell rings but it gets ruled as illegal. A point is deducted and Hernandez a nice long recovery.
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I always thought that Nelson got ripped off against Hernandez. Knocks him out with the last shot of a combination that lands literally as the bell rings but it gets ruled as illegal. A point is deducted and Hernandez a nice long recovery.

 

Never seen that fight. Now I want to, thanks. :thumb:

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