A new dawn has opened in the career of Ghana’s welterweigh t boxer Joshua Clottey as the International Boxing Federation (IBF) named him the number one contender to the title held by American Kermit Cintron.
In its rankings released at the weekend, Clottey heads the pack of pugilists on the line for the title.
The Ghanaian, who promised to win a world title last year but did not get the chance to challenge for it despite his impressive victories during the period, is now poised to attain his target this year with the current development.
Behind Clottey in the queue of contenders are Andre Berto of the US, who is rank ed second, and Zab Judah also of the US, in third place.
Antonio Margarito of Mexico is the number four contender, followed by England’s Ricky Hatton, Shane Mosely and Luis Collazo, both of the US in the fifth, sixth and seventh positions respectively.
Richard Guttierez of Colombia, Roberto Garcia of the US and Niquel A. Rodrigue o f Mexico complete the top 10 in that order.
Floyd Mayweather of the US is the World Boxing Council (WBC) champion of the division, Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto wears the World Boxing Association (WBA) champi o nship belt and Paul Williams of the US sits in as the World Boxing Organisation ( WBO) champion.
Ghana’s Raymond Narh is ranked 13th by the IBF in the lightweight division and Joseph Agbeko reigns as the titlist in the bantamweight class. Panapress.
