Boxing legend Oscar De La Hoya has recalled the punching power of Ghanaian boxing great Ike Quartey, describing the pain he experienced when the two fighters met in a memorable world title bout in 1999.

De La Hoya, who faced several outstanding fighters during his professional career, identified Quartey as the hardest hitter he encountered, admitting that the Ghanaian’s punches felt different from those of other opponents.

“His name was Ike Quartey. I thought he had bricks in his hands. That’s how hard he hit. He would hit me, and I’d be like, oh damn. Like it would hurt different. It was painful,” he said.

The two fighters clashed on February 13, 1999, at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, with De La Hoya defending his World Boxing Council (WBC) welterweight title against Quartey, the former World Boxing Association (WBA) champion.

The contest lived up to expectations, with both boxers demonstrating their punching power in a fiercely contested 12-round encounter.

Quartey dropped De La Hoya in the third round, while both fighters scored knockdowns in the sixth. De La Hoya later knocked the Ghanaian down again in the final round.

Despite Quartey’s resistance, the American secured a split-decision victory to retain his world title and hand the previously unbeaten Ghanaian his first professional defeat.

Known as ‘Bazooka’, Quartey established himself as one of Ghana’s finest boxers, winning the WBA welterweight title in 1994 and successfully defending it several times.

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