• Age: 30 (10-6-77)
• Residence: Bronx, New York
• Birthplace: Accra, Ghana
• Record: 35-2, 1 NC, 21 KOs
• Height: 5’9”
• Reach: 70”
• Manager: Vincent Scolpino
• Trainer: Kwame Asante

World championship fights: 1-1, 0 KOs...

IBF welterweight world champion...

Former welterweight world title challenger...

Former WBC Continental Americas super welterweight champion…

Former NABC welterweight champion…

Former African welterweight champion…

Former Ghanian jr. welterweight champion…

At the age of 30, Joshua is a 13-year pro. The IBF welterweight world champion, he won the title in his last fight in August, 2008, with a ninth-round technical decision against former undisputed welterweight and two-time jr. welterweight world champion Zab Judah. It was Joshua’s fifth win in a row.

After the fight, Dan Rafael wrote on ESPN.com [excerpts]: Clottey turned in an excellent performance as he busted up and wore down the quicker Judah.

In the ninth round, Clottey appeared to land a nasty left uppercut that ripped open a long gash over Judah’s right eye. Although referee Robert Byrd ruled the cut was from a head butt, the only thing visible on HBO’s numerous replays was that left hand cutting Judah. Nonetheless, Clottey, a native of Ghana living in the Bronx, settled for a technical decision instead of a TKO because the ringside doctor ruled that Judah could no longer continue after the supposed accidental butt.

However, the 31-year-old Clottey probably doesn’t care one iota whether his victory came on a technical decision or a knockout. The bottom line is that he finally won the title belt that he has coveted for so long. He had a shot at another version of the title in December 2006 when he faced Margarito. Clottey dominated the early rounds but said injuries to both hands slowed him down, allowing Margarito to rally and win a unanimous decision.

Although Clottey started a little slowly...he picked up his activity level in the middle rounds of the highly entertaining scrap.

Clottey is so darn strong and has such a tremendous chin - like Margarito - that he never stopped coming forward even when Judah was landing great shots, especially body blows. Clottey was doing his damage despite injuring his left biceps in the fourth round. Thankfully, the injury was not as severe as initially thought...it was just a pull, rather than a tear, and that after a few weeks of rest, Clottey would be ready to start training again.

Fightwriter.com’s Graham Houston reported [excerpts]: Conventional wisdom was that Judah would pile up points early and Clottey would come on strongly to take command in the second half of the contest, and, broadly speaking, this is what happened. For once, the conventional wisdom was spot on.

Clottey, who looked much the bigger man, was hurting and bullying Judah in the ninth round, and the end seemed to be in sight, when a cut over the Brooklyn boxer’s right eye brought matters to a conclusion.

It looked from the slow-motion replays as if Judah had been cut from a left uppercut, but referee Robert Byrd ruled it was a clash of heads.

Judah had seemed to be fading fast in the ninth round and it looked as if Clottey was on his way to stopping him. Judah had rallied in several rounds when it looked as if things were slipping away from him, but in the ninth he had a weary, dispirited look, his nose was gushing blood, his eyes were getting bruised and puffy and Clottey’s size and strength finally seemed to have broken him down.

In times past, before the current era of technical decisions and no decisions, fighters battled on with terrible cuts because they would have lost the fight otherwise, even if a collision had caused the damage.

Up until the ninth round, though, Judah had fought well. He showed some lovely moves and he exploded with flashy-looking combinations. Judah did some excellent scoring to the body.

Unfortunately for Judah, though, he was unable to budge Clottey although he did back off the Ghanaian in the eighth. Clottey just kept on coming, gloves up, blocking a lot of punches and letting Judah expend energy in two ways - by doing a lot of moving and by wasting punches on the Ghanaian’s defensive shield.

Judah can punch, and it must have been discouraging when Clottey grinned at him. This wasn’t the fake grin of a fighter pretending a punch hadn’t affected him, but one of genuine confidence, a “No, Zab, this is my night” type of grin.

While Judah was looking good in bursts, Clottey was the one doing the damage.... I got the impression that Clottey could have done more, but he did enough. He got in some jabs but mostly it was the straight right hand that was Judah’s undoing, although Clottey also ripped the left hook to the body and brought up some Margarito-like left uppercuts through the middle, one of which seemed to inflict the bout-ending cut.

Clottey deserved his win, and as a champion he could be matched in interesting fights against a number of opponents....

For the long-serving Clottey the IBF title offers a new beginning. He has paid his dues and it is good to see him in a position to reap some rewards.

Joshua earned the IBF No. 1 ranking and status as mandatory world title challenger with a 12 round decision win against Shamone Alvarez in an eliminator in December, 2007.

In December, 2006, Joshua lost a 12 round decision loss in a world title challenge against WBO welterweight champion Antonio Margarito - he started the fight very strongly, but injured his left hand badly in the fourth round and his right hand soon after that, and was not as effective in the second half of the fight.

In an earlier interview, Joshua said, “Everything is correct with my hand now. I never had any problems with it against Corrales. It was a stress fracture. I think it was from combination of punches. I think I was throwing a big shot at Margarito, I hit his face and I go to the body, and I come to the head. The first punch went to the head straight, and I started feeling the hand - “No, no, no, the hand is paining me.’ So from there, I couldn’t use the hand. I hurt the right hand, too, so it was my nightmare, it was my bad day. If it was not for that, I was going to beat him.

“I went to Ghana after the Margarito fight because of the hand. I was there for six weeks or two months. I didn’t use the hand for like, two months. We got some Africa medicine that we rubbed on the hand. The hand is going to be allright. So, I went there and rest the hand for like, two months and rubbed the medicine on it and everything is fine now.”

Before the loss to Margarito, Joshua was undefeated in his previous 11 fights - 10-0, 1 NC - dating back to his first loss in November, 1999, against Carlos Baldomir.

A native of Accra, Ghana, Joshua moved to New York in late 2003. He is the younger brother, by three years, of jr. welterweight veteran Emmanuel “Sleek” Clottey.

Joshua’s first 11 fights were in Africa. He signed a contract in 1996 with English promoter Panos Eliades, who also promoted heavyweight world champion Lennox Lewis at the time, and Joshua fought in England six times from ‘96 to ’99.

His first loss was by a questionable disqualification in London in November, 1999, against Argentinian Carlos Baldomir, who went on to win the WBC and The Ring welterweight world title. Joshua was leading on the scorecards when he was DQ’d. He said, “Let me tell you something. The one that I lost, I was disqualified. They robbed me. I was winning all the scorecards. I take that fight as a big robbery.”

Joshua has been introduced as Joshua “Hitter” Clottey for several years. He said, “My ring name is ‘Heater.’ When I started professional in Ghana, they started calling me that name. It’s like, when I’m fighting in the rounds, I used to charge. When the rounds were going, I keep charging. So somebody give me that name, because it’s like when you put the cold water down, then you put the heater in the water, the water is going to be hot.”

He said the birthdate listed on his Fight Fax record – Oct. 6, 1976 - is incorrect and that he was actually born a year later; he said, “When I was amateur in Ghana, my age was not good to go to the Commonwealth Games in 1994. So, they put one more year on my age. My real age is 1977, but they make it 1976 in the passbook.”

Key Fights – 2008 - in his last fight on 8-2-08 in Las Vegas, NV, he won a technical decision against lefthanded former undisputed welterweight and two-time jr. welterweight world champion Zab Judah (36-5): the bout headlined at the Palms, and it was a good, close fight; Judah boxed and moved effectively and kept a busy pace, but Joshua constantly pressed forward and steadily wore him down; the momentum shifted back and forth – Judah swept the 1st round on all three scorecards, Joshua swept the 2nd, then Judah swept the 3rd; Joshua bloodied Judah’s nose and mouth as he swept the 4th round, then swept the 5th, as well, but Judah outworked Joshua and swept the 6th round; Joshua rocked Judah with a number or hard right hands and swept the 7th round, Judah rallied late in the 8th round with an unanswered series of punches and won the round on two scorecards; Joshua came back strongly in the 9th round – he outworked Judah and landed the harder punches, and Judah was cut badly over his right eye by a left uppercut; the referee stopped the fight on the cut at 1:12 of the round - he ruled that it was caused by an accidental clash of heads, and went to the scorecards (note: video replays clearly showed that the cut was caused by a left uppercut); Joshua led by scores of 97-84, 86-85, 86-85..; after the fight, Joshua said, “He really hit with a lot of uppercuts, but I never felt anything. He never hurt me, trust me. In my boxing life, nobody has hurt me. The cut was caused by a punch and not a head butt. There was no head butt. I’m sure of that.”...

On 4-3-08 in Brooklyn, NY, he TKO’d Jose Luis Cruz (36-3-2): Joshua dominated the fight – he consistently outworked Cruz and landed the harder punches; Cruz was cut on his hairline by a clash of heads in the 2nd round; Joshua rocked him with a series of punches in the 5th round, and the referee stopped the fight at 2:48; after five rounds, Joshua led by shutout scores of 40-35, 40-36, 40-36...

2007 – IBF W ELIMINATOR - on 12-20-07 in Las Vegas, NV, he won a 12 round unanimoius decision against previously undefeated lefthander Shamone Alvarez (19-0): Alvarez gave a good effort and kept a busy pace, but Joshua dominated most of the fight; he pressed forward at times and counterpunched at others, and consistently landed the harder punches; scored 118-110, 116-112, 115-113; after the fight, Joshua said, “I wanted to stay patient. It’s 12 rounds. I just needed to take my time and win.”...

On 8-9-07 in Las Vegas he won a 10 round unanimous decision against former two-time world title challenger Felix Flores (22-5): Joshua started fast and built an early lead; Flores gave a good effort: he pressed forward, kept a busy pace, and rallied in the middle rounds; Joshua finishsed the fight strongly: he consistently landed the sharper punches, dominated the late rounds, and won by scores of 100-90, 99-91, 97-93; after the fight, Joshua said, “They said this was a tune-up, but this was not. He came to fight. I’m ready for a big fight now. I can be better than I was tonight. I was happy with the win. I would have liked a knockout, but Flores proved to be a very tough opponent.”... On 4-7-07 in Springfield, MO, he won a 10 round unanimous decision against former IBF and WBO jr. lightweight and WBC and WBO lightweight world champion Diego Corrales (40-4): it was Corrales’ first fight at welterweight, and Joshua dominated the fight; he consistently outworked Corrales in the early rounds and landed the harder punches; Corrales rallied in the 6th and 7th rounds, but Joshua came back strongly and rocked Corrales late in the 8th; Joshua staggered Corrales with a left hook midway through the 9th, staggered him again with a series of punches, then scored a knockdown with a left hook-right hand combination that also cut Corrales over his right eye; Corrales was also warned for spitting out his mouthpiece after the knockdown in order to gain more time to recover; Joshua scored another knockdown with a right hand that put Corrales on the seat of his trunks midway through the 10th, and Corrales was penalized one point for spitting out his mouthpiece after the knockdown; Corrales got up and fought hard for the rest of the round, but Joshua won by scores of 100-87, 98-89, 97-90..

2006 – WBO W WORLD TITLE CHALLENGE - on 12-2-06 in Atlantic City, NJ, he lost a 12 round unanimous decision against defending champion Antonio Margarito (33-4): the fight was co-featured with the Miguel Cotto-Carlos Quintana main event at Boardwalk Hall, which drew an announced crowd of 7,412; Joshua started fast and built a lead – he consistently outworked Margarito in the early rounds and after four rounds, led by scores of 39-37, 39-37, Clottey, 38-38; Margarito was also swollen under his left eye, but Joshua injured his left hand in the 4th round, and was not effective after that; Margarito stepped up his pace, constantly pressured Joshua and swept rounds five through 11 on all three scorecards, with one judge scoring the 9th round 10-8 in Margarito’s favor; Joshua came back to win the 12th round on two scorecards, but Margarito won by scores of 116-112, 116-112, 118-109; after the fight, Joshua said, “I hurt my hand in training about two weeks ago, but I wanted to take the fight because I am a warrior. I felt it hurting with my jab. I have a very strong jab. I didn’t want to quit, that is not my style. But once I broke my hand, I could not fight anymore.”...

IBF W ELIMINATION BOUT - on 7-29-06 in Santa Ynez, CA, he won a 12 round majority decision against previously undefeated prospect Richard Gutierrez (21-0): it was a fast-paced, gruelling fight, and both gave tremendous efforts; Joshua started fast and appeared to have the edge in the first three rounds, and both steadily wore down the other with body punches; Gutierrez was penalized one point in the 4th round for low blows, and Joshua was penalized one point in the 5th for the same foul; Gutierrez was also cut over his left eye by a clash of heads later in the round; the late rounds were close – Gutierrez stepped up his pace, but Joshua landed the harder punches; scored 116-111, 115-111 Clottey, 113-113...

2005 - WON WBC CONTINENTAL AMERICAS SW TITLE - on 12-3-05 in Las Vegas, NV, he won a 10 round unanimous decision against Marcos Primera (19-11-2): the bout was on the undercard of the Jermain Taylor-Bernard Hopkins rematch main event at Mandalay Bay, and Joshua dominated the fight; he consistently outworked Primera and landed the harder punches, and won by scores of 100-90, 100-90, 100-89…

On 10-21-05 in Verona, NY, he won a 10 round unanimous decision against Marlon Thomas (35-5-1): the bout headlined at the Turning Stone Casino, and Joshua dominated the fight; he pressed forward and landed the sharper punches, and Thomas was penalized one point for holding in the 10th round; scored 99-90, 99-90, 98-91…

On 2-18-05 in Atlantic City, NJ, he had a no contest against NABF interim welterweight champion Stephen Martinez (46-5-1): Martinez was cut over his left eye by a clash of heads in the 2nd round, and the referee stopped the fight…

2004 - WON VACANT NABC W TITLE - on 7-24-04 in Laughlin, NV, he knocked out Christopher Henry (18-8): Joshua gave a sensational performance and overpowered Henry; he scored one knockdown in the 3rd round, two in the 4th, and two more in the 5th, and Henry was counted out on his knees at 1:16…

On 6-4-04 in Poughkeepsie, NY, he won a 10 round unanimous decision against Lloyd Joseph (12-4-3): Joshua dominated the fight; he scored one knockdown in the 2nd round, and Joseph was penalized one point for punching to the back of the head in the 6th; Joshua scored another knockdown in the 8th, but was penalized one point later in the round for holding and punching; scored 99-87, 98-88, 97-89…

2003 - on 11-21-03 in New York, NY, he TKO’d Jeffrey Hill (23-4): Joshua pressed forward, outworked Hill, and dominated the fight; he scored a knockdown with a right uppercut in the 6th round - Hill got up just before the bell, but his corner stopped the fight after the round…

2002 - on 12-6-02 in Accra, GH, he won a 10 round decision against Ayitey Powers…

2001 - on 11-3-0-1 in Accra he knocked out Siki Benge in the 3rd round…

On 9-9-01 in Accra he knocked out Mebara Desire in the 3rd round…

WON AFRICAN W TITLE - on 4-26-01 in Accra he won a 12 round decision against Ike Obi…

1999 - WBC INTERNATIONAL W TITLE CHALLENGE - on 11-29-99 in Wembley, ENG, he lost by disqualification against defending champion Carlos Baldomir (28-8): Baldomir, of Argentina, was ranked No. 9 by the WBC, and the fight was on the undercard of WBC lightweight world title fight between champion Stevie Johnston and local favorite Billy Schwer; it was a step up in class of opposition for Joshua, and he gave a strong effort and dominated most of the fight - he pressed forward, consistently outworked Baldomir, and landed the harder punches; Baldomir was effective at times, but repeatedly clinched and wrestled; Joshua was penalized two points in the 10th round for an intentional headbutt that cut Baldomir over his left eye; the referee warned Joshua again for leading with his head in the 11th round, but Joshua pressed in with his head down once more, and was disqualified at 2:30 for “continual use of the head;” after 10 rounds, and the two-point deduction, Joshua led by scores of 96-92, 95-93, 95-93; [note: Fight Fax lists it as in the twelfth round, but Boxing News’ ringside report says it was the eleventh, which is supported by the scores at the time of the stoppage.] Boxing News reported from ringside, “It was a surprise when the third man waved the fight off. True, the African had led with his head, but he was guilty mostly of carelessness than malice. If anything, a disqualification would have been more justified for the low blows he threw throughout this 12-rounder.”; Baldomir went on to win the WBC welterweight world title...

On 10-19-99 in Bethnal Green, ENG, he TKO’d Viktor Baranov: Joshua pressed forward and steadily wore down Baranov; he cut Baranov over the left eye and under the right eye in the 4th; Joshua cut Baranov on the forehead in the 6th round, the scored a knockdown - Baranov got, but the referee stopped the fight at 0:44…

On 5-1-99 in Accra he knocked out Ali Mohamed in the 1st round… He debuted at the age of 17 on 3-31-95…

AMATEUR, PERSONAL BACKGROUND: Joshua said, “I was born in Accra. I’ve got three brothers and two sisters. I’m the junior brother of Emmanuel Clottey. My father worked on the highway. He make road, he worked in construction. He was a soccer player. He pushed us all into boxing. We started in Bukom. It’s the place in Accra where the fighters train. Azumah Nelson, Ike Quartey, they all started in Bukom.

“I started boxing when I was six years old. I was a soccer player, but they were fighting in my area. There was this guy beating everybody out there. I say, ‘Why is this guy beating everybody like this? I can fight him.’ And the coach asked me, ‘You never fight before. Why do you want to fight this guy?’ I said, ‘I just feel like fighting him.’ And I fight the guy, and the guy kicked my stomach and I vomit. When I vomit, I say, ‘Oh, no, no, no, no. I don’t like this, it’s too hard to beat this guy.’ I start training hard because of this guy, and I beat him. I beat him, and he stopped boxing and I come in as a boxer. I stopped the soccer playing.

“I had 49 amateur fights, with four losses. I reached the quarter-finals in the Commonwealth Games.

“I’m single, but I have one daughter. She was nine years in June. She lives in Ghana. You know, I’m a Muslim, so I gave her Muslim name, Zeenat Clottey.”...

Joshua is a member of Ghana’s “Ga” tribe, which includes Azumah Nelson, Ike Quartey, Ben “Wonder” Tackie, and many of Ghana’s other top boxers…

Boxing News editor Claude Abrams visited Accra several years ago and reported: “Imagine an uneven, open concrete yard about 20 feet square, the floor crumbling in parts and enclosed on three sides, one by the outer wall of a house, the other two by a patched-together fence made of wood and corrugated iron sheets.

“When bare, there’s scant evidence that this is or has been the playground to generations of fighting men. There’s no roof to keep out the rain or hold back the sun, but how it comes alive when the warriors arrive. The floor becomes cluttered as boxers clamor for room, elbowing each other to throw their blows while children clamber onto the frail walls and perch wide-eyed, like pigeons on a rooftop. There are benches neatly arranged at the entrance, which are quickly filled to capacity. The village has arrived!

“This is Bukom, probably no greater than the area of three football pitches, situated a short drive from the Ghanian capital Accra, where the average life expectancy is around 50, the streets do not have names and the red and dusty roads are so uneven that car passengers would be advised to wear crash hats.

“Scores of young boys and girls in bare feet scramble and fill the dried, earthy streets. They, too, know how to shadow box, how to hold their hands high and to throw punches.

“Ike Quartey was once one of these smiling youngsters – skinny and half-clothed – before he became “The Bazooka”... [He was born] in a rickety structure of little consequence or value which hovers like a tree-house above a pathway on the way to the gym, but now it’s a landmark, a must for those perusing the “where to go and visit” guide of Bukom.

“This is a village so immersed in boxing that at any given time during the day there will be a fighter in training and the square will, for most of the year, be occupied by a ring.

“Ghanian fighters...essentially fight in the same patient, methodical manner, knowing when and how to strike. Emotionally, when competing, they appear cold, their eyes focused, their concentration unwavering, though their characters can be warm and almost gentle.

“It is a paradox of almost schizophrenic proportions, though Ghanians are, by nature, proud and polite and perform their tasks neatly, down to the woman in the street who will walk with perfect precision balancing a car battery on her head.

“Here lies an untapped fountain of boys and men who have declared a willingness to fight for survival...”

STRENGTHS: Has an aggressive style, good skills and movement...has good punching power…is big and strong at 147 pounds...at his best, he pressures his opponents and wears them down...tough and determined...is experienced against top opposition...

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: 38 fights…236 total rounds…21 world championship rounds...

AVERAGE LENGTH OF BOUTS: 6.2 rounds…

KNOCKOUT PERCENTAGE: 60 %...

DISTANCE FIGHTS: 12 rounds - 4 (3-1)…11 rounds – 1 (0-1)...10 rounds - 7 (7-0)…