• About Us
  • Privacy Policy
Monday, June 27, 2022
Citi Sports Online
  • Home
  • News
  • Football
    • Premier League
    • Local Football
  • Ghana Premier League
  • Livescores
  • Sports Panorama
  • Videos
  • AFCON 2021
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Football
    • Premier League
    • Local Football
  • Ghana Premier League
  • Livescores
  • Sports Panorama
  • Videos
  • AFCON 2021
No Result
View All Result
Citi Sports Online
No Result
View All Result

The tragic death of Alfred Kotey, a beautiful fighter and victim of boxing’s lethal business

July 14, 2020
in Articles, Boxing
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare via Whatsapp

Little Alfred Kotey died a terrible, lonely and silent death in New York late last month.

Kotey was just 52 when he slipped, stumbled and fell in the Bronx and was taken to hospital. He never recovered and his machine was switched off – the end, but there is so little known about Kotey’s last hours, days, weeks and years.

RelatedPosts

Boxing roundtable marks J. J Rawlings 75th birthday

Daniel Koranteng writes: Why Ghana’s attack is begging for Eddie Nketiah

Yaw Frimpong writes: Real Madrid’s latest European crown is Florentino Perez’s most prized

It was obvious that the man in the coma was a long, long way from the man of 26 who won the WBO bantamweight title at York Hall one night in 1994. He was then a national idol in Ghana, a stunning fighter and I was sent to interview him in Bukom, central Accra, a place with rich boxing history. He was feted, street vendors sold pictures of his smiling face at traffic lights.

He was nicknamed Cobra, he was a lethal and beautiful little boxer. He had fought at the Olympics in 1988, had turned professional and gone on the road to chase the title like all African boxers have to. The riches, the titles, the fight are in foreign lands.

He made two defences of the world title, made some money and then lost to Daniel Jimenez; in Bukom Kotey had told me that the money from winning the world title would put a new roof on his house. He was not joking, I saw the house. There was always a sadness somewhere in Kotey’s eyes even when he was happy.

Alfred Kotey with Steve Bunce in central Accra, Ghana (Steve Bunce)

When Kotey lost to Jimenez, the defeat was his second in 22 fights. It was that night in the York Hall ring just over a year since winning the title, the very start of the ugly end of Kotey’s fighting life. He never stood a chance after that and bounced from loss to lose like an innocent victim. He was used, that is the harsh truth, and there was defeat after defeat as he was pitched against top fighters at higher weights in rings across the globe.

Kotey was so tough, so hard that he was only stopped once and that was in his last fight when he was pulled out after three rounds on a show in Accra. Kotey was 44 that night in 2012 and was fighting at light-middleweight, a full six weights above the bantamweight limit. There is blood money in being a loser, especially a loser with a good fighting history; Kotey took far too much punishment in the second part of his career, standing up to some fearsome punchers. In 2001 he went the 10 ten rounds and lost on points to Acelino Freitas – at the time Freitas was 29 and zero, a world champion and he had stopped or knocked out every single one of his opponents. Kotey was paid to take a terrible beating and he deserved every cent he was paid for his work that night in Miami. In addition to the blood money for the boxer, there is enough smeared on the hands of the men that made fights like that happen.

After the final loss, Kotey finished with a record of 26 wins, 16 defeats and a draw. He had a roof over his head at that time, but little more to show for a life in the fighting game. And then it all gets a bit murky in the life and time and death of little Alfred Kotey.

Fight people in New York had no idea Kotey was living in the city. There is no testimony about his plight, his slurred speech, his disorientation, his physical decline from him or anybody in the game. He was clearly a silent witness to his own slow death. He was seen, glimpsed, briefly met, but largely just ignored in the city’s unforgiving way. People remember now when it is too late and they are scrambling to put together the final days of his tragic exile. There is a bold plan to fly the body back to Ghana, but that will cost. Money is being donated and collected and that happens too often.

The great little fighter with the perfect balance and poise fell over on the street. He had dementia, he then had a stroke, he stopped speaking. And that really makes little difference because nobody was listening. One or two people sat with him as he died, lonely and silent in a foreign land. The nurses stood vigil at the door watching his vital signs diminish as his torture ended. He had nothing left long before he was declared dead. The roof over his head was long, long gone – a pile of rubbish in a Bukom he left behind.

Nobody in the boxing business killed Alfred Kotey, but a lot of people helped him die in such an awful and desolate way. The death of the Bukom idol is another boxing tragedy.

Source: www.independent.co.uk
Tags: Alfred KorteySteve Bunce
Previous Post

REVEALED: What Marco Materazzi said to Zidane before 2006 World Cup headbutt

Next Post

“Disgraceful”: Jose Mourinho launches attack at CAS for overturning Man City’s ban

Related Posts

Boxing

Boxing roundtable marks J. J Rawlings 75th birthday

June 23, 2022
Articles

Daniel Koranteng writes: Why Ghana’s attack is begging for Eddie Nketiah

June 20, 2022
Articles

Yaw Frimpong writes: Real Madrid’s latest European crown is Florentino Perez’s most prized

June 10, 2022
Boxing

SA boxer dies after suffering brain injury and ‘punching air’ during bout

June 8, 2022
Boxing

Tennis, F1, Nations League and AFCON Qualifiers all June on SuperSport

June 3, 2022
Boxing

Ike Quartey threatens to drag GBA to court over Samuel Takyi bout

June 1, 2022
Boxing

Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez to face Gennady Golovkin in trilogy fight

May 24, 2022
Boxing

Boxing: GBA and IMAX Media call on Pres. Akufo-Addo

May 19, 2022
Load More
Next Post

"Disgraceful": Jose Mourinho launches attack at CAS for overturning Man City's ban

Top Stories

Emmanuel Adebayor wins $510k Fifa ruling over ‘unfair sacking’

Otto Addo explains why local players did not play for Black Stars against Madagascar

Otto Addo explains why he played Gideon Mensah at centre-back

Watch Mohammed Kudus’ fantastic goal against Central African Republic [VIDEO]

RSS Citi Podcasts

  • Sports Panorama, Friday, 24th June, 2022 June 24, 2022 Citi 97.3 FM
  • Eyewitness News, Friday, 24th June, 2022 June 24, 2022 Citi 97.3 FM
  • Citi Breakfast Show, Friday, 24th June, 2022 June 24, 2022 Citi 97.3 FM
  • The Big Issue, Saturday, 18th June, 2022 June 18, 2022 Citi 97.3 FM
  • Famlife, Saturday, 18th June, 2022 June 18, 2022 Citi 97.3 FM
  • Sports Panorama, Friday, 17th June, 2022 June 18, 2022 Citi 97.3 FM
  • Eyewitness News, Friday, 17th June, 2022 June 17, 2022 Citi 97.3 FM
  • Citi Breakfast Show, Friday, 17th June, 2022 June 17, 2022 Citi 97.3 FM
  • Eyewitness News, Wednesday, 15th June, 2022 June 16, 2022 Citi 97.3 FM
  • Citi Breakfast Show, Thursday, 16th June, 2022 June 16, 2022 Citi 97.3 FM
Citi Sports Online

© 2019 Citi Sports Online

  • Home
  • News
  • Football
  • Ghana Premier League
  • Livescores
  • Sports Panorama
  • Videos
  • AFCON 2021

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Football
    • Premier League
    • Local Football
  • Ghana Premier League
  • Livescores
  • Sports Panorama
  • Videos
  • AFCON 2021

© 2019 Citi Sports Online

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
Citi Sports Cookie Policy
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
Cookie SettingsAccept All
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT