Ike Quartey
Encyclopedia
Ike "Bazooka" Quartey is a former WBA
World Boxing Association
The World Boxing Association is a boxing organization that sanctions official matches, and awards the WBA world championship title at the professional level. It was previously known as the National Boxing Association before changing its name in 1962...

 Welterweight champion boxer
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...

. He has fought numerous world champion boxers including Oscar De La Hoya
Oscar de la Hoya
Oscar De La Hoya is a retired American boxer of Mexican descent. Nicknamed "The Golden Boy", De La Hoya won a gold medal at the Barcelona Olympic Games shortly after graduating from Garfield High School. De La Hoya comes from a boxing family. His grandfather Vicente, father Joel Sr., and brother...

, Fernando Vargas
Fernando Vargas
Fernando Vargas is a retired Mexican American boxer and two-time world champion, who won a bronze medal as an amateur at the 1995 Pan American Games in Mar del Plata. His nicknames include "Ferocious", "The Aztec Warrior" and "El Feroz"...

, Vernon Forrest
Vernon Forrest
Vernon Forrest, nicknamed "The Viper", was an American professional boxer who became a world champion in the welterweight and light middleweight divisions and noted for his two victories over Shane Mosley and upset losses to Ricardo Mayorga.- Early years and amateur career :Forrest began boxing at...

 and Ronald "Winky" Wright.

Biography

Quartey is a member of Accra
Accra
Accra is the capital and largest city of Ghana, with an urban population of 1,658,937 according to the 2000 census. Accra is also the capital of the Greater Accra Region and of the Accra Metropolitan District, with which it is coterminous...

's Ga
Ga people
The Ga-Adangbe are an ethnic group in the West African nation of Ghana. It is part of the Dangme ethnic group. The Ga people are grouped as part of theGa–Dangme ethnolinguistic group. They speak Kwa languages...

 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
Boxing at the 1960 Summer Olympics
In the 1960 Summer Olympics, Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. won the gold medal in the boxing light heavyweight division for the United States.-Medals:- Flyweight :-Quarterfinals:...

.

Amateur career

Quartey had an amateur record of 50-4, and represented Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...

 as a Light Welterweight
Light welterweight
-Professional boxing:The light welterweight class is a weight division in professional boxing that has a limit of 63.5 kg or 140 pounds...

 at 1988 Seoul Olympic Games
Boxing at the 1988 Summer Olympics
Boxing at the 1988 Summer Olympics took place in the Chamshil Students' Gymnasium in Seoul. The boxing schedule began on September 17 and ended on October 2. Twelve boxing events were contested, with the participation of 441 athletes and 159 officials from 106 countries...

.

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
Azumah Nelson
Azumah Nelson , a native of Ghana, is a former professional boxer. He is a three-time world champion in two weight classes.Nelson is the former Lineal and two-time WBC Super Featherweight Champion...

.

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.

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 Title

In Quartey's 26th fight he was given a shot at the WBA Welterweight title, held by the then undefeated Crisanto España
Crisanto España
Crisanto España was a professional boxer in the welterweight division.España fought out of Belfast, Northern Ireland and turned pro in 1984. España impressively won his first 30 fights, including the WBA Welterweight Title with an upset TKO in the 8th round over Meldrick Taylor in 1992...

 of Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

. 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 level.

He defended his title successfully seven times. Among his foes were Alberto Cortes, Vince Phillips
Vince Phillips
Vincent Edwards Phillips Sr. is an American boxer best known for upsetting and beating then undefeated Kostya Tszyu for the junior welterweight title.- Early life :...

, and Oba Carr. In October 1997 he fought José Luis López
José Luis López (boxer)
Jose Luis Lopez is a former Mexican professional boxer. He was known forhis incredible ability to absorb a punch and tremendous power to knock out most of his opponents but didn't make very far due to drug abuse....

 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 Welterweight title.

Quartey vs. De La Hoya

Quartey returned from a 14 month absence to challenge WBC
World Boxing Council
The World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...

 Welterweight champion Oscar De La Hoya
Oscar de la Hoya
Oscar De La Hoya is a retired American boxer of Mexican descent. Nicknamed "The Golden Boy", De La Hoya won a gold medal at the Barcelona Olympic Games shortly after graduating from Garfield High School. De La Hoya comes from a boxing family. His grandfather Vicente, father Joel Sr., and brother...

 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 once in the fight. De La Hoya came away with a close, somewhat controversial, split decision.

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
Fernando Vargas
Fernando Vargas is a retired Mexican American boxer and two-time world champion, who won a bronze medal as an amateur at the 1995 Pan American Games in Mar del Plata. His nicknames include "Ferocious", "The Aztec Warrior" and "El Feroz"...

 for the IBF
IBF
IBF may refer to:*International Boxing Federation is one of several boxing organisations* International Bandy Federation former name of Federation of International Bandy , an international governing body for bandy...

 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
Verno Phillips
Verno Jeremias Phillips , is a professional boxer in the Light Middleweight division.- Career :Phillips turned pro in 1988 and captured the Vacant WBO Light Middleweight Title in 1993 with a win over Lupe Aquino...

 and Carlos Bojorquez
Carlos Bojorquez
Carlos Bojorquez is a Mexican professional boxer in the Light Middleweight division. He has record of 26 wins 10 losses and 6 draws.-Pro career:...

. On 5 August 2006, he lost a close unanimous decision to former Welterweight champion Vernon Forrest at Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...

, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

. The decision was deemed controversial by HBO's ringside commentators and much of the crowd in attendance.

Quartey vs. Wright

On 2 December 2006, Quartey's fought former undisputed Light Middleweight champion Ronald "Winky" Wright at the St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa
Tâmpa
Tâmpa may refer to several villages in Romania:* Tâmpa, a village in Băcia Commune, Hunedoara County* Tâmpa, a village in Miercurea Nirajului, Mureş County* Tâmpa, a mountain in Braşov city...

, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

. 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.

External links

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