Isufu "Ike" Quartey (November 27, 1969) is a Ghanaian former professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 2006. He held the World Boxing Association (WBA) welterweight title from 1994 to 1998, and challenged once for International Boxing Federation (IBF) junior-middleweight title in 2000.

Early years and amateur career Quartey is a member of Accra's Ga 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. He was born in Bukom where fighting was a hobby. He fought on the streets and trained in the same gym as Azumah Nelson.

Quartey had an amateur record of 50–4, and represented Ghana as a Light Welterweight at 1988 Seoul Olympic Games.

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.

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 champion In Quartey's 26th fight he was given a shot at the WBA welterweight title, held by the then undefeated Crisanto España of Venezuela. Quartey knocked out España 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 even.

He defended his title successfully seven times. Among his foes were Alberto Cortes, Vince Phillips, and Oba Carr. In October 1997 he fought José Luis López 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 title.

Quartey vs. De La Hoya

Quartey returned from a 14-month absence to challenge Lineal/WBC welterweight champion Oscar De La Hoya 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 in the 6th round. De La Hoya came away with a close, albeit controversial split decision. Quartey's interest in boxing waned after this defeat.

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 for the IBF 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 and Carlos Bojorquez. On 5 August 2006, he lost a close unanimous decision to former welterweight champion Vernon Forrest at Madison Square Garden, New York by scores of 93–96, 94–95, & 94–95. CompuBox stats showed Quartey outlanding Forrest (201 out of 481, 42% for Quartey; 184 of 818, 22% for Forrest), and Forrest was docked 1 point for a low blow in the 9th round. The decision was deemed controversial by most ringsider reporters, HBO's ringside commentators (including "unofficial scorer" Harold Lederman), and much of the crowd in attendance, who responded with a semi-raucous chorus of boos and repeated chants of "Bullshit!" after the fight. On 2 December 2006, Quartey's fought former undisputed light-middleweight champion Ronald "Winky" Wright at the St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa, Florida. 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.

Professional boxing record

ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes42LossWinky WrightUD122 Dec 200641Loss37–3–1Vernon ForrestUD105 Aug 200640Win37–2–1Carlos BojorquezTKO10 (10), 3 Dec 200539Win36–2–1Verno PhillipsUD1018 Jun 200538Win35–2–1Clint McNeilTKO8 (10)14 Jan 200537Loss34–2–1Fernando VargasUD1215 Apr 200036Loss34–1–1Oscar De La Hoya1213 Feb 199935Draw34–0–1José Luis López1217 Oct 199734Win34–0Ralph JonesKO5 (12), 18 Apr 199733Win33–0Oba Carr124 Oct 199632Win32–0Vince PhillipsTKO3 (12), 12 Apr 199631Win31–0Jorge RamirezTKO43 Feb 199630Win30–0Andrew MurrayTKO4 (12), 23 Aug 199529Win29–0Jung-Oh ParkTKO4 (12), 4 Mar 199528Win28–0Bobby ButtersTKO3 (8)4 Feb 199527Win27–0Alberto de las Mercedes CortesTKO5 (12), 1 Oct 199426Win26–0Crisanto EspañaTKO11 (12)4 Jun 199425Win25–0Lonnie SmithPTS1016 Oct 199324Win24–0Moises Rivera1024 Jun 199323Win23–0Mario Morales86 Mar 199322Win22–0Floyd WilliamsKO4 (8)6 Feb 199321Win21–0Martin QuirozKO420 Jan 199320Win20–0Jose LugoKO15 Dec 199219Win19–0Steve BarrerasTKO3 (6), 21 Oct 199218Win18–0Alfredo Horacio JaurenaTKO1 (12)25 Jun 199217Win17–0Juan Carlos Ceferino VillarrealTKO5 (12)15 Apr 199216Win16–0Dindo CanoyTKO1 (12)7 Mar 199215Win15–0Kelcie BanksTKO7 (10), 2 Nov 199114Win14–0Alafia ApovoKO410 Aug 199113Win13–0Sammy ClayKO2 (12)4 May 199112Win12–0Humberto RodriguezKO116 Mar 199111Win11–0Mohammed MuritalaKO1 (12)15 Dec 199010Win10–0Jean Claude N'KodoKO128 Apr 19909Win9–0Tubor BriggsTKO1 (12)2 Dec 19898Win8–0Arc-Wash JohnsonKO2 (12)21 Oct 19897Win7–0Adenko DekaKO1 (10)9 Sep 19896Win6–0Simon Peter McIntoshTKO4 (10)17 Jul 19895Win5–0Anor AmissahTKO8 (10)10 Jun 19894Win4–0Aaron Duribe5 (8)29 Apr 19893Win3–0Jaffa BallogouKO2 (12)22 Apr 19892Win2–0Steven GabienuKO1 (6)26 Dec 19881Win1–0Mama Mohamed2 (6)26 Nov 1988

Pay-per-view bouts Date Fight Billing Buys NetworkDe La Hoya vs. QuarteyThe Challenge570,000Pay-Per-View History at about.comHBO

References

External links

Ike Quartey profile at About.com Ike Quartey interview