Boxing News – June 27, 2019

30 lBOXING NEWSlJUNE 27, 2019 http://www.boxingnewsonline.net

➤man who has gone from those few fabled blocks on

the Gulf of Guinea to the very top of the boxing world.

“When you go to Jamestown, every little kid knows

Richard Commey,” he says. “That’s what it’s all about.

You could ask any kid ‘where’s Richie?’ and they would

lead you straight to my mum’s house.

“I have a month in Ghana after every fight and

then I’m straight back to work. It’s great being back in

Ghana because a lot of people there look up to me,

I like to put a smile on their faces.

“When I was a kid, all I wanted to be was a soccer

player. I loved Abedi Pele and CK Akonnor and then

obviously Ronaldo – the big [Brazilian] Ronaldo, the

original Ronaldo. Man, I loved him so much. That’s

who I pretended to be.

“That’s who I looked up to but they seemed so

far away. Because of that I want to stay close to my

people when I can.

“That brings a pressure. Some people might feel it

but I don’t because when I go back home I live with

them, I’m one of them. I always have been, I am now

and I always will be. I don’t see myself as a celebrity or

anything like that.”

He was spotted by esteemed manager Michael

Amoo-Bediako, AKA Mickey Moo, during a visit to

Accra with his three sons in 2010. The middle one,

Michael Jnr, was sparring in the gym run by Lawrence

Carl Lokko during their stay and Amoo-Bediako

instantly recognised potential in the quiet, thin kid

with the toothy grin who had just moved around with

his son.

Incidentally, that famous gym, the Bronx Boxing

Club, is named after the same New York borough

where Commey would finally find his home away from

home following stints in Dubai and Essex.

“I like the Bronx,” he added. “I’m in the same place

now that I have always been since I moved over here

in 2017. “In fact, I like New York, I enjoy it here. To be

honest, sometimes when I’m in the Bronx I feel like

I’m back home in Ghana. I can get my jollof rice and all

the other types of food.

“There are a lot of Ghanaians where I live, some

are even from Jamestown just like me. There are even

some people who I knew already from back home.

That’s nice to me – I always feel like home.”

For a kid born in one of the most deprived areas

of Ghana’s capital, the razzmatazz and distractions

offered by the city that never sleeps might seem a bit

too hard to turn down. But not for Commey.

He adds: “When I go home, that’s when I relax but

when I’m in New York that’s work. There’s no play it’s

just train, sleep, eat good food and then train again.

When I come here, I’m not here to be a tourist, I’m

here to improve myself. Every day is camp life.

“In the gym we’re like a family of course but outside

of that I like to step back. Of course all the guys in the

gym are nice and we’re good friends but they know

me...they don’t bother me.

“I’ve been here two years now and that was only

my first time up the Empire State Building. I wanted to

go up there with my belt and now I have. But it’s like I

told you, I don’t really go out much, I haven’t done any

sightseeing.”

Such intense focus is necessary when you operate

in arguably the best division in the sport today.

Despite the recent departure of Mikey Garcia to

140lbs and beyond, the 135lb cast still contains

EARLY DAYS:
Commey
[above] in 2010
alongside
Amoo’s son
and [above
right] beating
Gary Buckland
in 2014 inside
Bethnal
Green’s
York Hall

COMMEY vs BELTRAN

Can the new champ turn back

the challenge of an old champ?

FRIDAY (June 28) brings together two world class lightweights,

but while one is entering his prime, the other appears to be on

the other side of his.

At 32 years old and in his 30th professional outing, IBF boss

Commey won his first world title by stopping Isa Chaniev in

February and Top Rank have awarded him with the opportunity

to make his first defence at the top of their card at the Pechanga

Resort and Casino in Temecula, California.

But they have provided a solid opponent in Raymundo Beltran,

the Mexican former world champion who is coming in off an

inside-distance win against previously undefeated Japanese

Hiroki Okada in February.

At 37, however, Beltran’s best days might be behind him and

he surrendered his WBO world title, which he finally won at the

fourth time of asking in February of last year, in his first defence

against Jose Pedraza just six months later.

The long-time sparring partner of Manny Pacquiao is reunited

with Freddie Roach for this camp and his all-action style will

ensure he brings the heat to Commey live on ESPN.

But his aggression could also be his undoing against a man who

knows successfully navigating past Beltran will unlock the door

for some huge lightweight encounters. Commey will not have it all

his own way but he should win this inside the distance.

Photo: ACTION IMAGES