Joshua Clottey (born October 6, 1977) 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 To ...
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 1995 to 2019, and held the
IBF
The International Boxing Federation (IBF) is one of four major organizations recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) which sanctions professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Counci ...
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 2008 to 2009. As an amateur, he competed at the
1994 Commonwealth Games
The 1994 Commonwealth Games (French: ''XVéme Jeux du Commonwealth'') were held in Victoria, British Columbia, from 18 to 28 August 1994. Ten types of sports were featured at the Victoria Games: athletics, aquatics, badminton, boxing, cycling ...
. At the peak of his career, he was notable for his exceptionally durable
chin, and was never
stopped in any of his five losses.
Early life
As a child in his native Ghana, Clottey had a passion for football, a sport that was also played by his father. Clottey moved and spent a few years in the United Kingdom then later to the United States.
Professional career
Welterweight
Clottey rose to prominence by winning his first twenty fights, including 14 by knockout. His performance set him up to fight
Carlos Baldomir
Carlos Manuel Baldomir (born April 30, 1971) is an Argentine former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2014. He held the WBC, The ''Ring'', and lineal welterweight titles in 2006, and challenged once for the WBC super welterweight t ...
, in a title defense by Baldomir for the WBC international welterweight title. Clottey was winning until the 10th round, where he was penalized two points for an intentional head butt. After another clash of heads, Clottey was disqualified.
Clottey rebounded from the controversial loss by winning the African Boxing Union welterweight title in his next fight. He then rolled off a 10 fight winning streak highlighted by his first win on American soil and capture of several minor welterweight and middleweight titles. The streak culminated in an IBF intercontinental welterweight title. On December 2, 2006, Clottey earned his first shot at a world title but broke his hand in the fourth round of his fight against
World Boxing Organization
The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxing ...
champion
Antonio Margarito
Antonio Margarito Montiel (born March 18, 1978) is a Mexican-American former professional boxer who competed between 1994 and 2017. He held multiple welterweight world championships, including the WBO title from 2002 to 2007, the IBF title in ...
. That bout against Margarito has since come under controversial suspicion following news reports (released after Margarito's fight with
Shane Mosley
Shane Mosley (born September 7, 1971), often known by his nickname "Sugar" Shane Mosley, is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2016. He held multiple world championships in three weight classes, including the IBF l ...
) that Margarito had boxed opponents with hand wraps illegally loaded with plaster (along with Margarito's first bout with
Miguel Cotto
Miguel Ángel Cotto Vázquez (born October 29, 1980) is a Puerto Rican former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2017. He is a multiple-time world champion, and the first Puerto Rican boxer to win world titles in four weight classes, ...
). On April 7, 2007 (following Clottey's questionable loss to Margarito), Clottey earned a unanimous decision over
Diego Corrales
Diego "Chico" Corrales Jr. (August 25, 1977 – May 7, 2007) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1996 to 2007. He was a multiple-time world champion in two weight divisions, having held the IBF super featherweight title from 199 ...
, in what was Corrales's final fight before his death. In December 2007, Clottey positioned himself for another title shot with a win over prospect Shamone Alvarez. Clottey beat
Zab Judah
Zabdiel Judah (born October 27, 1977) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1996 to 2019. He held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including the IBF and WBO junior welterweight titles between 2000 and 20 ...
on August 2, 2008, for the IBF welterweight title vacated by Antonio Margarito.
Clottey vs. Cotto
On June 13, 2009, Clottey faced
Miguel Cotto
Miguel Ángel Cotto Vázquez (born October 29, 1980) is a Puerto Rican former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2017. He is a multiple-time world champion, and the first Puerto Rican boxer to win world titles in four weight classes, ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
at
Madison Square Garden for the
WBO welterweight title. Cotto dropped Clottey in the first with a jab. Cotto was cut in the third round by an accidental head butt. Clottey's combinations throughout the fight gave Cotto problems. Cotto emerged the winner with a controversial split decision.
Clottey vs. Pacquiao: The Event
Clottey fought
seven-division world champion Manny Pacquiao
Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao Sr. (; born December17, 1978) is a Filipino politician and former professional boxer. Nicknamed "PacMan", he is regarded as one of the greatest professional boxers of all time. He served as a Senator of the Phil ...
on March 13, 2010, in
Arlington, Texas, at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium following the disagreement on terms of a proposed boxing match between Manny Pacquiao and
Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Floyd Joy Mayweather Jr. (''né'' Sinclair; February 24, 1977) is an American boxing promoter and former professional boxer. He currently owns a team in the NASCAR Cup Series named The Money Team Racing. As a professional boxer he competed b ...
which would have been scheduled on the same date in
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...
. Clottey lost to Pacquiao by unanimous decision. Pacquiao threw a total of 1231 punches in the fight, missing 985 and landing 246. Clottey threw a total of 399 punches, 291 missed and 108 hit Manny. On November 19, 2011, after over a year away from the ring, Clottey returned to defeat Calvin Green via TKO in the second round. Since then however, Clottey confirmed that he'd retired from boxing to care for a sick relative.
Comeback
On August 23, 2013, Star Boxing announced Clottey's return to boxing as they have signed the former champion to a contract. Clottey returned to the ring on September 14, 2013, when he faced Dashon Johnson. Clottey defeated Johnson via unanimous decision. On April 9, 2014, Clottey went on to beat former middleweight champion Anthony Mundine, dropping Mundine five times. Clottey was in line to fight
Canelo Alvarez in December 2014, but Canelo had to pull out due to an ankle injury. On December 19, 2015, Clottey faced
Gabriel Rosado
Gabriel Rosado (born January 14, 1986) is an American professional boxer who challenged twice for a middleweight world title in 2013. Hailing from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Rosado is part of the city's large Puerto Rican community. Renowned f ...
at a 158-lb
catchweight
A catchweight is a term used in combat sports, such as boxing or mixed martial arts, to describe a weight limit that does not adhere to the traditional limits for weight classes. In boxing, a catchweight is negotiated prior to weigh-ins, which are ...
. Despite having success and leading early in the fight, Clottey was outworked over ten rounds. He lost via unanimous decision. Clottey clarified in February 2018 that he has yet to retire in boxing. The most recent fight in which he won was against opponent Azziz Mponda from Tanzania. Clottey won by TKO in round 8.
Fighting style
A tough, orthodox fighter, Clottey has a balanced combination of size, speed, stamina, power, endurance, ring savvy, and a solid chin. In addition, he is an accurate, efficient puncher with effective countering ability. His defensive skills are top notch; he stands upright while holding his arms and gloves high to protect himself, which is similar to
Winky Wright
Ronald Lamont "Winky" Wright (born November 26, 1971) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1990 to 2012. He is a two-time light middleweight world champion and was the last to hold the undisputed title at that weight until ...
's defensive stance.
Manny Pacquiao-Joshua Clottey fight packed star power, fans into Cowboys Stadium – ESPN Dallas
Sports.espn.go.com (2010-03-15). Retrieved on 2012-02-29. As a result of his defensive prowess and ability to absorb a punch, he has never lost a bout via knockout.
Personal life
Born in Accra, Ghana, Clottey now lives in The Bronx
The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
, New York.
Professional boxing record
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Clottey, Joshua
1977 births
Living people
Light-middleweight boxers
African Boxing Union champions
International Boxing Federation champions
Ghanaian male boxers
Boxers from Accra
Ghanaian emigrants to the United States
Light-welterweight boxers
World welterweight boxing champions
Boxers at the 1994 Commonwealth Games
Commonwealth Games competitors for Ghana