Name: Ike Quartey	BoxRec Record
	Record: 37-4-1 (31 KOs)
	DOB: 11/27/69
	Height: 5'7"
	Weight: Welterweight
	Birthplace: Bukom, Ghana
	Resides: Accra, Ghana
	Last Fight: 12/2/06 L 12 Ronald "Winky" Wright
	Retired 2006

Biography

Ike Quartey has been fighting as a professional for over sixteen years.  Throughout his successful career, Quartey has contended with great such as Ronald “Winky” Wright, Vernon Forrest, Fernando Vargas, and Oscar De La Hoya.

A former WBA World Welterweight Champion, he won the title in June of 1994, and made seven successful defenses before vacating the title in 1997.  Following two consecutive, tough losses to Oscar De La Hoya and Fernando Vargas in 1999 and 2000 respectively, Ike opted to retire…temporarily.  In January of 2005 he climbed through the ropes again to start a second career. 

When asked about his comeback, Quartey has stated, “I am back to win a World Championship.  I am back to cement my legacy. Every fight is the next step on that journey.  I am not doing it for the fame or the money, I am doing it because I love boxing.”

“The way he left boxing left a real bad taste in his mouth,” promoter Lou DiBella said.   “He lost close decisions to De La Hoya and Vargas, after he had a decision over Jose Luis Lopez changed to a draw. He was really never beaten up and when he left boxing, he was only 29 and still at the top. He saw Oscar get knocked out and saw Roy go to sleep, and he realized he is still good enough to compete with these guys.  Ike is in great shape and looks like he hasn’t been away from the ring for five weeks, let alone five years.  His fights against former two-time World Champions Vernon Forrest and Verno Phillips proved that he is ready for any fighter in the world.”

In Quartey’s first fight back from his five year layoff on January 14, 2005, he knocked out the game Clint McNeil (15-7) in front of thousands of fans in his hometown of Accra.  After Ike scored a knockdown in the seventh round and two knockdowns in the eighth, the referee stopped the fight.

Ike is a native of Accra, Ghana and is a member of the “Ga” tribe, a tribe of warriors that includes former World Champions Azumah Nelson and Alfred Kotey, contender Ben Tackie, and others.

During Quartey’s time away from the ring, he promoted boxing events, invested in real estate, and built a hospital and hotel in Accra. Ike resided in Accra with his wife Barbara and two children.  Recently, Ike lost his wife tragically Barbara to illness.

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