by James Slater: Joshua Clottey has been waiting patiently for his shot at the IBF welterweight championship. After having beaten the then undefeated Shamone Alvarez in a final eliminator for the title back in December of last year, the 31-year-old Bronx native has been anxious to box for the IBF 147 pound belt..
Well, according to sources including BoxRec.com, Clottey will get his chance on August 2nd. As fans know, Antonio Margarito has vacated his reign as IBF champ in order to engage in a huge showdown with current WBA welterweight king Miguel Cotto. This leaves the strap open for Clottey and a suitable opponent. There is no official word yet as to who the 34-2(20) Clottey will face, but rumours persist that it will be either Zab Judah or former IBF belt holder Kermit Cintron. Either fight would be great for Clottey, as hungry and ambitious as he is.
Judah, of course, was scheduled to fight “Sugar” Shane Mosley, but that fight fell through when Zab fell through a shower door, an accident that resulted in Judah needing over fifty stitches in his arm. As stated, it is in no way official who Clottey will box for the vacant IBF belt, but whoever the 31-year-old faces it should be a top quality match.
Clottey, an African fighter who learnt his trade in Accra, Ghana, before relocating to the U.S, has boxed for a world title before. Losing on points to Margarito, who was then the WBO champ at welterweight, Clottey claims only a hand injury stopped him from winning. Instead, however, Clottey lost via a fairly close points decision. Ever since, “The Hitter” has been desperate to prove he is genuine world class material.
Since the loss to Tony back in December of 2006, Clottey has won three fights. A win over the recently deceased Diego Corrales in April of last year was particularly impressive, and now Joshua will at last get his second, well earned crack at world glory.
Whoever it is he eventually faces in August, in a fight set to be shown on HBO, Clottey can be relied upon to give his absolute best. A good, more than capable and tough fighter, the 31-year-old truly feels he will one day become a recognised world champion. And though most fans will only consider either Floyd Mayweather or the winner of the Cotto-Margarito clash as the real king at 147 pounds, no-one can deny the fact that Joshua Clottey has more than earned his chance to be at least considered as the very best.
Come August 2nd, Joshua Clottey will very likely be holding a version of the welterweight championship of the world.