Isufu "Ike" Quartey (born 27 November 1969) is a
Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and Tog ...
ian former
professional boxer
Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...
who competed from 1988 to 2006. He held the
WBA welterweight
Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify th ...
title from 1994 to 1998, and challenged once for
IBF junior-middleweight
Light middleweight, also known as junior middleweight or super welterweight,PeBoxRec/ref> is a weight class in combat sports.
Boxing
The light middleweight division (also known as junior middleweight in the IBF or super welterweight in the WBA a ...
title in 2000.
Early years and amateur career
Quartey is a member of
Accra
Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , ...
's
Ga tribe. He is the youngest of 27 children. His father reportedly had five wives. His older brother
Isaac Quartey won a silver medal in the
1960 Olympics. He was born in
Bukom where fighting was a hobby. He fought on the streets and trained in the same gym as
Azumah Nelson
Azumah Nelson (born 19 July 1958) is a Ghanaian former professional boxer who competed from 1979 to 2008. He was a two-weight world champion, having held the WBC featherweight title from 1984 to 1987 and the WBC super-featherweight title tw ...
.
Quartey had an amateur record of 50–4, and represented
Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and Tog ...
as a
Light Welterweight
Light welterweight, also known as junior welterweight or super lightweight, is a weight class in combat sports.
Boxing Professional boxing
In professional boxing, light welterweight is contested between the lightweight and welterweight divisions, ...
at
1988 Seoul Olympic Games.
Professional career
Quartey turned professional in 1988, a day short of his nineteenth birthday. He started his boxing career under the guidance of Yoofi Boham, without doubt the most successful manager in Ghana, and also father-in-law of former World boxing champion
Azumah Nelson
Azumah Nelson (born 19 July 1958) is a Ghanaian former professional boxer who competed from 1979 to 2008. He was a two-weight world champion, having held the WBC featherweight title from 1984 to 1987 and the WBC super-featherweight title tw ...
.
Boham got Quartey recognized as a boxer on the international scene. Boham managed Quartey alongside Alfred "The Cobra" Kotey and gave them the names Bazooka and Cobra. Quartey and Kotey were so close that many thought they were brothers.
Quartey began his professional career with a 2nd-round knockout of Mama Mohamed. Most of Quartey's early fights were staged in Ghana, before he relocated to France.
WBA welterweight champion
In Quartey's 26th fight he was given a shot at the WBA welterweight title, held by the then undefeated
Crisanto España of
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
. Quartey knocked out Espana in the 11th round. At the time of the stoppage one judge had Quartey ahead, one had him behind and a third judge had the fight even.
He defended his title successfully seven times. Among his foes were Alberto Cortes,
Vince Phillips, and Oba Carr. In October 1997 he fought
José Luis López to a draw. The decision was originally read as a win for Quartey but reversed when a flaw was found in the scoring. Although Quartey was down twice, most observers felt that he deserved the victory and his reputation suffered little damage.
Personal, business and health issues kept Quartey out of the ring until February 1999. His inactivity led him to be stripped of his WBA title.
Quartey vs. De La Hoya
Quartey returned from a 14-month absence to challenge ''Lineal''/
WBC welterweight champion
Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify the ...
Oscar De La Hoya at the Thomas & Mack center in Las Vegas, Nevada on 13 February 1999. Quartey was floored in 6th and 12th rounds, with De La Hoya also down in the 6th round. De La Hoya came away with a close, albeit controversial split decision. His interest in boxing waned after this defeat.
Quartey vs. Vargas
Following the defeat to De La Hoya, Quartey would take another 14-month hiatus from the ring. He returned in April 2000 to challenge
Fernando Vargas for the
IBF light-middleweight championship. Quartey was defeated by a unanimous decision with scores of 116-111 twice and 114–113.
Following this fight, Quartey would not fight for another five years.
Return to the ring
Quartey returned to the ring in January 2005. He won the first three bouts of his comeback with victories over Clint McNeil,
Verno Phillips
Verno Jeremias Phillips (born November 29, 1969) is a Belizean former professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 2008. He is a three-time junior middleweight world champion, having held the WBO title from 1993 to 1995, and the IBF title twice ...
and
Carlos Bojorquez
Carlos Bojorquez (born 26 June 1972) is a Mexican professional boxer who competed from 1997 to 2007, challenging for the IBF light middleweight title in 2004.
Professional career
He has fought for the vacant IBF Light Middleweight title and has ...
. On 5 August 2006, he lost a close unanimous decision to former welterweight champion
Vernon Forrest
Vernon Forrest (February 12, 1971 – July 25, 2009) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2008. He held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including the WBC, IBF, ''Ring'' magazine and lineal welterweigh ...
at
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylv ...
,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
by scores of 93–96, 94–95, & 94–95.
CompuBox stats showed Quartey outlanding Forrest (201 out of 481, 42% for Quartey; 184 of 818, 22% for Forrest), and Forrest was docked 1 point for a
low blow in the 9th round. The decision was deemed controversial by most ringsider reporters,
HBO's ringside commentators (including "unofficial scorer"
Harold Lederman
Harold Lederman (January 26, 1940 – May 11, 2019) was an American boxing judge and analyst. He began his career as a boxing judge in 1967 and joined the cast of ''HBO World Championship Boxing'' in 1986, and was there until HBO dropped boxing ...
), and much of the crowd in attendance, who responded with a semi-raucous chorus of boos and repeated chants of "Bullshit!" after the fight.
On 2 December 2006, Quartey's fought former undisputed light-middleweight champion
Ronald "Winky" Wright at the St. Pete Times Forum,
Tampa
Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough C ...
,
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...
. Quartey was down once in the fight and went on to lose a unanimous points decision.
Boxing style
Quartey's best weapon was his jab, which was considered to be one of the best in boxing while he was in his prime. He primarily relied on a "peek-a-boo" or "clam-shell" defense, which consisted of him allowing punches to land on his arms, elbows and gloves which he kept held tightly to his cheeks and ribcage.
Professional boxing record
Pay-per-view bouts
References
External links
*
*
Ike Quartey profileat
About.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Quartey, Ike
1969 births
Living people
Ga-Adangbe people
World welterweight boxing champions
Olympic boxers of Ghana
Boxers at the 1988 Summer Olympics
Ghanaian male boxers
African Boxing Union champions
World Boxing Association champions
Light-welterweight boxers
Light-middleweight boxers