Joshua Clottey ranked ninth by WBO, fights in September

Accra, July 23 - GNA - Ghana's plucky welterweight boxer, Joshua Clottey has been ranked ninth by the World Boxing Organisation (WBO) in its latest rankings released on Wednesday. Commenting on Clottey's rise, Mr Henry Manly Spain, Chairman of Golden Concept, local promoters of the boxer said they worked hard to get the boxer ranked in the top ten in order to add value to his profile. He praised Mr Bernard Fearon and Nii Okine Hammond for their commitment to the cause of the boxer and assured them that Joshua would become a world champion in two years.

The chairman said he was confident that Clottey would get fights regularly to steer his carer to the top as Golden Concepts have succeeded in linking him up to SJC Promoters Incorporated of Fort Myers in Florida, USA. Mr Manly Spain said already, plans are rife for Clottey to fight Hercules Kyvelos, the eighth contender in a tune up fight in the USA in September before he takes on the number three-ranked Paolo Roberto, adding that the results of those fights would determine when the boxer gets a shot at the world title. He said Golden Concepts would soon meet with Mr Stephen Canton of SJC Promoters Incorporated to sign more contracts to provide Ghanaian boxers on their bills in Europe and the USA.

The chairman said he has received assurances from Mr Canton that SJC would stage some fights in Ghana as a way of defining their identity on the Ghanaian boxing scene to attract more boxers from the country. Mexican Antonio Margarito is the sitting champion in the division and his immediate followers include Michael Trabant of Germany who is the first contender, Jose Celaya of the USA the second contender and Paolo Roberto, the Latin American who fights from Switzerland is at number three.

Other contenders include Portuguese Kermit Cintron at number four, Briton Neil Sinclair at fifth, Newton Villareal of Columbia at sixth and Michele Piccirillo of Italy at seventh. The eighth contender is Hercules Kyvelos of Canada, while Teddy Limoz of the USA is 10th, Danny Perez also of the USA is 11th and Freddy Perez Hernandez of Mexico is the 12th contender.