Joshua Clottey Hits Back …At Brother

Former International Boxing Federation (IBF) champion Joshua ‘The Hitter’ Clottey, has reacted to his big brother, Emmanuel Clottey’s recent media reports.

The senior brother had accused Joshua of stopping his (Emmanuel) fights and referring to him as a psychologically disturbed person.

Joshua however told DAILY GUIDE SPORTS exclusively that the reason for his actions was due to his exceptional interest in the wellbeing of his senior sibling.

“I have realized he is not a mentally stable person at the moment, basically because of his marital issues and the fact that he is jobless at the moment.

“I watched his last fight against Michael Alvarado. A blow sent him down in the last round and it took the medical team close to 11 minutes to revive him.

“I am afraid he will suffer the same fate should he go back to the ring, hence my actions,” said Joshua.

He said three things had let his brother down- his marriage, stubbornness to boxing managers and failure to heed his (Joshua’s) advice to stay in the US.

Joshua revealed that despite the brother’s failure to heed his counsel, he kept remitting him on monthly basis until recently when the older one went to the media to ‘wash the family’s dirty linen in public’.

The former World champion said he had tried several times to draw his big brother to himself because of his recent precarious situation, but to no avail.

“I asked him to join me at my East Legon residence but he has refused. My brother, the problem started when he told me he was coming to Ghana and I told him to stay and work in the US.

“His former manager also advised him on the same issue but he will not listen. He approached me for financial assistance so he would not become a liability, I consented and gave him and the spouse GHC9,000 but nothing good came out of it.

“You see, it’s a long story, but let me summarize it. He recently asked me to pay his children’s fees and I told him I can’t do that because if I fail to continue in future it will create problems between us.

“He also asked for a VW saloon car I was using, but I refused because I have realized his jobless situation will make it impossible for him to fuel the car, let alone maintain it.

“My advice to him against the lady he married is one of the reasons he has become bitter, but as we speak, his marriage is hitting the rocks.

“He would not listen. I even decided to make him my assistant trainer so that the money I pay the trainers will go to him but he will not take my advice.

“For now, I spend close to GHC3,000 a month on our father’s chronic ailment as well as other family commitments, don’t forget I also have my responsibilities, ” Joshua added.

To Joshua, supporting each other as siblings has always been his priority, but his big brother is not cooperating with him.

“I love the Gyan brothers so much because of how they relate to each other. I admire Barfuor so much because you see him supporting the junior one, Asamoah all the time, but the same cannot be said about the Clottey brothers.”