Former International Boxing Federation (IBF) Welterweight champion Joshua Clottey announced his comeback with a superlative performance over his opponent Calvin Green, stopping the latter in round two of their eight-round junior middleweight bout, at the Reliant Arena, Houston, USA last Saturday.
It was Clottey�s best performance in three years and he attributed the victory to the advice from his corner men and fans.
�Calvin insulted me during the weigh-in program. My trainer, Godwin Nii Quaye Dzani (Hallowey) heard him and he charged me to discipline him in the ring,� Clottey, 34, said on Asempa FM yesterday.
�I gave him a left hook and that sent him down. I didn�t want to lose three fights in a row so I stepped up my training and was focused from start till he couldn�t return.
�The match maker declared after the fight that it was my best performance in three years. Criticisms from fans that I don�t throw punches also urged me on to win the fight,� Clottey (35-4,20Kos) added.
Now fighting in a new weight class of 154, he was tight-lipped about his purse noting, �Money was not the real issue in this fight, I had wanted to prove a point, and this will likely pit me against Miguel Cotto, Antonio Margarito, Saul Alvarez, Pawel Wolak, James Kirkland and Chavez Jr.�
He pleaded with his fans to exercise patience with him when the going gets tough.
�Boxing is not like soccer where you can give a pass when one is tired. It is a difficult sport, so the fans should be patient with us,� he stated.
Meanwhile, Clottey has wished compatriot Joseph King Kong Agbeko well, ahead of his rematch against Abner Marez in the United States on December 3.
He is expected to return home in a fortnight to attend to his sick father.