The West African nation Ghana has produced an incredible number of gifted prizefighters for one small country. But what’s even more amazing is that with few exceptions, they all come from a tiny shantytown on the outskirts of Accra.  They are the pride of BUKOM.

Ask a Ghanaian fighter how he got involved in boxing and the usual response is, “I come from Bukom,” or “Where I come from, in Bukom, fighting is a way of life.”  They all belong to the same Ga tribe and speak an eponymous tongue.

Whether it’s Uzbekis, Cubans or, say, Ghanaians, fighters wishing to make millions make the pilgrimage to America.  The Bukom boxers who come to New York usually settle in the Bronx, where there’s a large Ghanaian population.  One of these—no longer a fighter but a beloved trainer—is Kwame Asante.  He used to train his stable of Ghanaians at Gleason’s in Brooklyn.  On a given day you might’ve seen him do 28 straight rounds of mitts with The Clottey bothers, Emmanuel and Joshua, Ben “Wonder” Tackie, and Alfred “The Cobra” Kotey.” Earlier this year, Asante and Co. said to hell with the commute, and relocated to John’s Gym at 149^th and Westchester Ave. in the Bronx. 

John’s is a great little under-the-radar gym, made better with the influx of world-class Africans.  Fight Beat stopped by recently to film sparring and conduct interviews with the calm, reserved Asante and his Bukom bad boys, who are equally peaceable outside the ring. 

But we came with a specific mission in mind: to witness Joshua Clottey bring the pain and share it with our readers. On July 29, he will fight undefeated Richard Gutierrez as the televised co-feature on HBO’s Boxing After Dark.

Joshua Clottey (28-1, 18 KOs), the younger brother of the better-known Emanuel, might be the dark horse of the welterweights—currently the deepest, most talented division in boxing. If it weren’t for politics and a stormy relationship with his former promoter, Lou DiBella (Josh just signed with Top Rank), he would undoubtedly be a fan-favorite. Local cognoscenti who’ve witnessed his mix of power, speed, athleticism, and abundant killer instinct, think he’s the one to break from the pack of contenders and nominal titlists—Paul Williams, Carlos Quintana, Jose Antonio Rivera, Luis Collazo, Marc Suarez, Kermit Cintron, et al.—and join the elite. (Who we should consider among the elite is up for debate, but let’s just go with Mayweather, Mosely, Margarito, Baldomir, and, err, Judah.)  Regardless, Clottey (#5 WBC, #4 WBO) must first beat Gutierrez on B.A.D. and look damn good doing it.

Fight Beat is excited to bring you this rare sparring footage of this, as yet, rarely seen fighter—known to most of you as the African guy calling out Margarito in press releases. Our own Kenneth Bouhairie—who is proudly of Ghanaian decent—conducted deep interviews and even busted out some of the native tongue.

Much as Team Fight Beat loves a Buddy McGirt or Freddie Roach, a “Pretty Boy” or “Golden Boy,” we realize there are others out there who, given the chance, can hang with them.  So we are all too happy to support our African brothers getting busy in the Bronx!

WHO IS JOSHUA CLOTTEY?

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