FROM DIFFERENT States in the same country, Ghana?s Ike Quartey and Joshua Clottey will embark on separate agenda in pursuit of laurels in America tomorrow. And whether destiny will claim the duo, Quartey and Clottey as winners or not lies greatly in the hands of the two to throw in much to avoid a possible disputed verdict.
Unlike the 37-year-old Bazooka man 37-3-1 (31 KO?s), who takes on America?s Ronald Lamont ?Winky? Wright 50-3-1, (25KO?s) in a non-title middleweight bout, Clottey will be hankering to snatch the WBO welterweight strap from champion Antonio Margarito at the Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Most certainly, Clottey?s insatiable desire to snatch victory stems from his desire to announce his presence among boxing elites.
Besides, the 29-year-old Clottey with an enviable fight record of 29-1 (18KO?s), is determined to fight above himself to reign as the new WBO welterweight king.
And in one of his interviews he proclaimed that: ?I am ready for him, and I am stepping out tomorrow for nothing but the belt.?
Antonio, a Mexican, equally possesses a rich record of 33-4 (24KO?s) and indications are that he is determined to give his Ghanaian challenger a real treat.
At the St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa in Florida, ?Winky? returns to home fans after a 14-year absence to battle ?Bazooka? in a middleweight bout.
?Winky?, a former junior middleweight champion and the current middleweight contender, is a southpaw and his 16-year-old boxing career makes tomorrow?s clash a bit daunting for Quartey.
Very characteristic of boxers, the confident 35-year-old American remarked in one of his interviews that: ?He has bitten more than he can chew, he is tough, but he will be in the ring with the wrong man.?
But Bazooka, a former world welterweight champion who lost last August 5, on a controversial decision, seems conditioned to win convincingly to brighten his chances of landing a big fight next year.
?Ike seem ready, very conditioned and bent on beating his opponent well to avoid what happened in his fight against Vernon Forrest barely five months ago? was how Mr. Moses Foh-Amoaning, Chairman, Ghana Boxing Authority, who left the country yesterday for one of the fights described the ?Bazookaman?.
