Ike Quartey

Isufu "Ike" Quartey (born 27 November 1969) is a Ghanaian former professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 2006. He held the WBA welterweight title from 1994 to 1998, and challenged once for IBF junior-middleweight title in 2000.[2]

Ike Quartey
Statistics
Real nameIsufu Quartey
Nickname(s)Bazooka
Weight(s)
Height5 ft 8 in (173 cm)[1]
Reach71 in (180 cm)[1]
NationalityGhanaian
Born (1969-11-27) 27 November 1969
Accra, Ghana
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights42
Wins37
Wins by KO31
Losses4
Draws1

Early years and amateur career

Quartey is a member of Accra'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.[3]

Quartey had an amateur record of 50–4, and represented Ghana as a Light Welterweight at 1988 Seoul Olympic Games.[4]

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.[5]

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.[6]

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. 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 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.[7]

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 and Carlos Bojorquez. On 5 August 2006, he lost a close unanimous decision to former welterweight champion Vernon Forrest at Madison Square Garden, New York 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), and much of the crowd in attendance, who responded with a semi-raucous chorus of boos and repeated chants of "Bullshit!" after the fight.[8][9] On 2 December 2006, Quartey's fought former undisputed light-middleweight champion Ronald "Winky" Wright at the St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa, Florida. 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
42 fights 37 wins 4 losses
By knockout 31 0
By decision 5 4
By disqualification 1 0
Draws 1
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
42 Loss 37–4–1 Winky Wright UD 12 2 Dec 2006 St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa, Florida, US
41 Loss 37–3–1 Vernon Forrest UD 10 5 Aug 2006 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, US
40 Win 37–2–1 Carlos Bojorquez TKO 10 (10), 2:12 3 Dec 2005 Mandalay Bay Events Center, Paradise, Nevada, US
39 Win 36–2–1 Verno Phillips UD 10 18 Jun 2005 FedExForum, Memphis, Tennessee, US
38 Win 35–2–1 Clint McNeil TKO 8 (10) 14 Jan 2005 Azumah Nelson Sports Complex, Accra, Ghana
37 Loss 34–2–1 Fernando Vargas UD 12 15 Apr 2000 Mandalay Bay Events Center, Paradise, Nevada, US For IBF junior-middleweight title
36 Loss 34–1–1 Oscar De La Hoya SD 12 13 Feb 1999 Thomas & Mack Center, Paradise, Nevada, US For WBC welterweight title
35 Draw 34–0–1 José Luis López MD 12 17 Oct 1997 Foxwoods Resort Casino, Ledyard, Connecticut, US Retained WBA welterweight title
34 Win 34–0 Ralph Jones KO 5 (12), 1:08 18 Apr 1997 Las Vegas Hilton, Winchester, Nevada, US Retained WBA welterweight title
33 Win 33–0 Oba Carr MD 12 4 Oct 1996 Paramount Theater, New York City, New York, US Retained WBA welterweight title
32 Win 32–0 Vince Phillips TKO 3 (12), 2:31 12 Apr 1996 Atlantis Casino, Sint Maarten, Netherlands Antilles Retained WBA welterweight title
31 Win 31–0 Jorge Ramirez TKO 4 3 Feb 1996 Palais des Sports Marcel-Cerdan, Levallois-Perret, France
30 Win 30–0 Andrew Murray TKO 4 (12), 0:44 23 Aug 1995 La Palestre, Le Cannet, France Retained WBA welterweight title
29 Win 29–0 Jung-Oh Park TKO 4 (12), 2:55 4 Mar 1995 Convention Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, US Retained WBA welterweight title
28 Win 28–0 Bobby Butters TKO 3 (8) 4 Feb 1995 Palais des Sports, Castelnau-de-Guers, France
27 Win 27–0 Alberto de las Mercedes Cortes TKO 5 (12), 2:03 1 Oct 1994 Arena de Cosets, Carpentras, France Retained WBA welterweight title
26 Win 26–0 Crisanto España TKO 11 (12) 4 Jun 1994 Palais des Sports Marcel-Cerdan, Levallois-Perret, France Won WBA welterweight title
25 Win 25–0 Lonnie Smith PTS 10 16 Oct 1993 Palais des Sports Marcel-Cerdan, Levallois-Perret, France
24 Win 24–0 Moises Rivera PTS 10 24 Jun 1993 Vélodrome, Bordeaux, France
23 Win 23–0 Mario Morales UD 8 6 Mar 1993 Palais des Sports Marcel-Cerdan, Levallois-Perret, France
22 Win 22–0 Floyd Williams KO 4 (8) 6 Feb 1993 Cirque d'Hiver, Paris, France
21 Win 21–0 Martin Quiroz KO 4 20 Jan 1993 Avoriaz, Morzine, France
20 Win 20–0 Jose Lugo KO 1 5 Dec 1992 Palais des Sports, Berck, France
19 Win 19–0 Steve Barreras TKO 3 (6), 2:50 21 Oct 1992 Riviera, Winchester, Nevada, US
18 Win 18–0 Alfredo Horacio Jaurena TKO 1 (12) 25 Jun 1992 Acquaflash, Licola, Italy Retained WBC International light-welterweight title
17 Win 17–0 Juan Carlos Ceferino Villarreal TKO 5 (12) 15 Apr 1992 San Pellegrino, Italy Retained WBC International light-welterweight title
16 Win 16–0 Dindo Canoy TKO 1 (12) 7 Mar 1992 Accra, Ghana Won vacant WBC International light-welterweight title
15 Win 15–0 Kelcie Banks TKO 7 (10), 2:05 2 Nov 1991 Fiscalini Field, San Bernardino, California, US
14 Win 14–0 Alafia Apovo KO 4 10 Aug 1991 Accra, Ghana
13 Win 13–0 Sammy Clay KO 2 (12) 4 May 1991 Accra, Ghana Retained African light-welterweight title
12 Win 12–0 Humberto Rodriguez KO 1 16 Mar 1991 Pabellón Príncipe Felipe, Zaragoza, Spain
11 Win 11–0 Mohammed Muritala KO 1 (12) 15 Dec 1990 Accra, Ghana Won vacant African light-welterweight title
10 Win 10–0 Jean Claude N'Kodo KO 1 28 Apr 1990 Accra, Ghana
9 Win 9–0 Tubor Briggs TKO 1 (12) 2 Dec 1989 Accra, Ghana Retained West African light-welterweight title
8 Win 8–0 Arc-Wash Johnson KO 2 (12) 21 Oct 1989 Accra, Ghana Won vacant Ghanaian light-welterweight title
7 Win 7–0 Adenko Deka KO 1 (10) 9 Sep 1989 Accra, Ghana
6 Win 6–0 Simon Peter McIntosh DQ 4 (10) 17 Jul 1989 Accra, Ghana
5 Win 5–0 Anor Amissah TKO 8 (10) 10 Jun 1989 Accra, Ghana
4 Win 4–0 Aaron Duribe TKO 5 (8) 29 Apr 1989 Accra, Ghana
3 Win 3–0 Jaffa Ballogou KO 2 (12) 22 Apr 1989 Accra, Ghana Won vacant West African light-welterweight title
2 Win 2–0 Steven Gabienu KO 1 (6) 26 Dec 1988 Accra, Ghana
1 Win 1–0 Mama Mohamed KO 2 (6) 26 Nov 1988 Accra, Ghana

Pay-per-view bouts
DateFightBillingBuysNetwork
February 13, 1999
 De La Hoya vs. Quartey The Challenge 570,000[10] HBO

References
  1. HBO Sports tale of the tape prior to the Oscar De La Hoya fight.
  2. Spousta, Tom (2000-04-14). "BOXING; Vargas and Quartey Take Status Problems Into the Ring (Published 2000)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-02-01.
  3. "Nelson Azumah". mobile.ghanaweb.com. Retrieved 2020-08-24.
  4. Juipe, Dean (1996-07-19). "Boxer has traveled the long road - Las Vegas Sun Newspaper". lasvegassun.com. Retrieved 2021-02-01.
  5. "Africa | Bukom: heartbeat of African boxing". BBC News. 2003-06-25. Retrieved 2017-02-23.
  6. "Alfred Kotey Interview". Eastsideboxing.com. 1994-07-30. Retrieved 2017-02-23.
  7. "I lost interest in boxing — Ike Quartey". Graphic Online. Retrieved 2020-08-24.
  8. "Vernon Forrest vs Ike Quartey - 4/4". YouTube. 1995-03-04. Archived from the original on 2021-11-17. Retrieved 2017-02-23.
  9. "Forrest wins unanimous - and controversial - decision". Sports.espn.go.com. 2006-08-05. Retrieved 2017-02-23.
  10. Pay-Per-View History at about.com
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