Deserving of the Hall Of Fame, a true warrior Ike "Bazooka" Quartey?!?!?!

DanielTurcotte317y ago

The little big man Ike "Bazooka" Quartey, the fighter who came out of Ghana and fought for his life each and everytime he stepped into the ring. He showed a true warriors heart, and although he seemingly came up short in his biggest fight, we could never dare to question his heart, his guts and his determination. His fight with Oscar De La Hoya in 1999 was and still today is one of the most talked about fights in our era. A was for 12 rounds, filled with drama, knockdowns, and controversy. Another fight a year later in 2000 with a warrior in Fernando Vargas,and then 5 years off from the squared circle before returning in 2005. It was a career filled ups and down along the way, and big fights against some of the best fighters in the world. Ike "Bazooka" Quartey.....Hall of Famer? This is the question we ask? It was a career that started in 1988 at a weight limit of 140 lbs. Starting his career in his homeland of Ghana until his first trip to the US in 1999. Here Bazooka may have realized early in his career just what this great sport could be able to do for a prizefighter. He was able to pile up 21 straight wins (20 by KO), and continued to march of the World Title rankings. After 3 straight decision victories, Quartey found himself being given his first World Title Shot. Albeit he was able to build this record up against limited competition early in his career, this would be the last of anything remotely close to soft competition from here on out. It was 1994 and Quartey was given an oppurtunity to fight for the WBA World Welterweight Title. This night he would take on Crisanto Espana, the current champion, who had scored an impressive 8th round KO victory over Meldrick Taylor in 1992. After 3 successful defenses, he would take on the toughest fighter of his career. After 10 round of a furisous war, we had a close compelling fight on out hands. Quartey had been the agressor all night, and Espana was able to use this to his advantage landing some big power shots. Round 11 prooved to b Quartey's biggest round of his short career. He forced Referee Julio Alvarado to call a hault to the fight. Quartey had one his very first World Title and was on top of the world. Little did we really realize what we were going to get out of this young champion. 6 Consecutive title defenses including 2 very impressive victories over Vince Phillips, a 3rd TKO as he showed his dominate ability and his powerful right hand. also a 12 round MD over the very game and at the time 39-1 Oba " Motorcity" Carr. A fight in which he truly domindated from start to finish. Using his jab to control the pace and lowering huge right crosses all night long. This is when we really got a glimpse as to what Quartey really had to offer inside the ropes. He was a very intelligent fighter who was a jab first, not to mention he had one of the best jabs of any Welterweight of all-time, who would wear down opponents with his body work and his big right hand. After a close controversial fight with Jose Luis Lopez had been delcared a draw. A scoring ear was later revealed as it was first declared a MD victory for Quartey, later to be changed to a draw. Quartey would not fight again for almost a year and a half. He would consequently be stripped of his WBA Welterweight for inactivity. His big break would come in Feb. of 1999 as he would be given a shot against WBC Champion, and future shoe in HOF, Oscar De La Hoya. An all out battle ensued on the night of the 13th of Feb. DLH was pushed to the brink the entire night. Ike was able to land big right hands as well as some of his sneaky left hooks to the head. DLH was able to box Quartey, but Quartey looked like the bigger man and the better man inside the ring that night. In round 6, DLH floored Quartey with a big left hook. Quartey jumps back up and is back in the pocket fighting with DLH. He was able to put Oscar on the deck in the very same round returning the favor with his own Left hand. It was a back and forth affair, with both men landing big shots and having there moments. Round 12 brought in a DLH who would not let this fight slip away. He had his biggest round to date as a pro and was able to floor Quartey and continue his sustained attack whil Quartey lay on the ropes. The entire time during the DLH barrage, Quartey sat there and took Oscar's biggest shots and simply did what only he knew how to do.........Fight Back.......DLH would be awarded a SD victory that night in controversial fashion. But there were no loser's as Ike Quartey had his biggest night, on the grandest stage of them all....simply put......Ike Quartey had arrived. He would go on to have another battle the next year with Fernando Vargas, moving up in weight to fight Vargas for the 154 lbs. IBF title. this time Vargas had outboxed Quartey over 12 rounds. Again the fight had it's moments throughout, but all in all it was Vargas who was landing the more effective shots throughout the night. Vargas would win a UD to retain his IBF Light Middleweight Title. Quartey again had come up short in another big fight, but the fight was still and always there even in his most difficult battles. Ike go onto not fight for 5 full years. Many had wondered why, but on Bazooka knew this answer. His battles had maybe caught up to him a little bit. The man was in his prime of his career, coming off his 2 biggest paydays, and at the at of 31, he would walk away from the sport that had brough his over a sea and to the United States of America. 5 Years later Ike would comeback and begin the same journey that he had begun 17 years earlier. He had gotten back into the ring and after 3 solid UD's including 2 over journeymen Verno Phillips (Current IBF Light Middleweight Champion), and Carlos Bojorquez. He was once again back in the title picture. He was hoping to recieve a shot at the title if he could get past tough veteran Vernon Forrest. After 10 rounds of boxing, the fans had made it clear who had won the fight. And it's too bad that us fans couldnt judge fights because it that was the case, Quartey would have gotten the nod and he'd have been given a title shot. Well....this is boxing, and instead the judges awarded the fight to the far less busier and sloppy at time Vernon Forrest by a UD. Quartey took it like a man as he had in prior endeavors, he knew he'd won, but more importantly we knew he won. Only 3 judges who were at ringside didnt agree with millions of fans,and hundreds of media. Again, another thing that continues to hold boxing down. Yet Quartey would be given another shot against yet another great fighter. This time there was no controversy, Winky Wright had beat Quartey up all 12 rounds. He would shoot his jab and fire of his piston like left cross all night while Quartey continued to walk and stalk to for Undisputed Light Middleweight fighter. Quartey had finally grown old on us, and it showed. He wasn't the same fighter anymore. The 5 years off had take it's toll. The battles had take it's toll. Ike would retire after this fight.An anticlimatic end to a great career, filled with ups and down's and controversy. But not before he put a stamp on the business and opened our eyes too other fighters. Ike opened the door to fighters who would also come from his tough up bringing. Quartey was a class act in and out of the ring. He will be remembered for his battles with DLH and Vargas, and forgot for not getting a fight with Felix Trinidad. A great fighter at his time in the limelight, never one to dissapoint. Question: Does Ike Quartey belong in the HOF someday?!? It's a question ive asked time and time again, and no matter how many times I ask it.....To me....The answer is always the same.....Yes! Thank you and hope yall enjoyed!!!:boxing:

Comments (20)

Del_Coqui

Great fighter? YES. HOF material? NO I think his biggest fights were against Carr, Vargas and DLH and came up short.

17y ago

IMDAZED

YES SIR.......a very strange performance indeed in which Quartey really seemed to struggle allllll night...He couldn't get himself going, and again when Quartey was at his best he would start off with his jab and it would open everything up....When he was at his worst he would get away from it and in turn eat a lot of punches from fighters with far less skill level, another reason y we point to his focus more then his ability, And the 14 months off was something i never understood, and that y I think he landed the biggest fight of his career in DLH. I think DLH knew what he was gettying but I dont think he was prepared for what he got thinking that this was a guys that came off a 14 month layoff....I also scored it for Ike i believe I have it in my Notebook upstairs ill have to double check, and I think that Ike had a style that was trouble for DLH and i feel that as good a fighter and DLH showed the ability to go back and comeback in with a different strategy in all his rematches...DLH V Mosley and DLH V Chavez.......I still think that Bazooka gives DLH hell anytime they would fight...... Well let's not forget that the only reason he was off for 14 months before Oscar was because of Oscar, who postponed the fight from Sep. 1998 to Feb. 1999. I still remember Mike Katz showing up at the press conference with a magnifying glass to mock Oscar's claim of a "cut" in training camp. It was pretty BS. By the time Quartey got in the ring, the rust was apparent. Oscar, on the other hand, was in peak form. And he still lost IMO.

17y ago

DanielTurcotte3

I agree. Ike SHOULD have been awarded the decision against Oscar. I've watched that fight a gazillion times and no matter what, I always score it (close) for Ike. I also think, in his prime, he had the perfect style to beat Tito. That RIDICULOUS jab would've offset Tito each time he set up. But even byt he time he fought Oscar, Quartey was beginning to slow down. he hadn't fought in 14 months (and I thought it showed) and was coming off a strange performance against Jose Louis Lopez. Another layoff before the Vargas fight took the rest out of him. YES SIR.......a very strange performance indeed in which Quartey really seemed to struggle allllll night...He couldn't get himself going, and again when Quartey was at his best he would start off with his jab and it would open everything up....When he was at his worst he would get away from it and in turn eat a lot of punches from fighters with far less skill level, another reason y we point to his focus more then his ability, And the 14 months off was something i never understood, and that y I think he landed the biggest fight of his career in DLH. I think DLH knew what he was gettying but I dont think he was prepared for what he got thinking that this was a guys that came off a 14 month layoff....I also scored it for Ike i believe I have it in my Notebook upstairs ill have to double check, and I think that Ike had a style that was trouble for DLH and i feel that as good a fighter and DLH showed the ability to go back and comeback in with a different strategy in all his rematches...DLH V Mosley and DLH V Chavez.......I still think that Bazooka gives DLH hell anytime they would fight......

17y ago

Silencers

It would have been a case of if Quarteywanted to really scrap with Tito....which as we have seen is what Quartey really loved to do.....I think if he just sat back and pumped that jab Tito would have really eaten a lot of shots, it he would have been opened up to Quartey right hand....His jab was a fuckin thing of beauty....If he went into all his fights witht the mindset of throwing 35-40 jabs per round, I don't think there would have been too many ppl that coulda beaten him and I don't personally think that we would be having this discussion as he had the possibility of being a shoe in....but Trinidad would have always had that option of landing his big left hook and we also know Quartey was able to be hit with this punch...Se DLH v Quartey i nthe 6th round when DLH floored him with a solid left hook....He didn't have a great chin, but he had the ability to recover from hitting the deck or from being KD, he always seemed able to get back up and continue to fight...Again see DLH V Quartey when he got off the deck to return a left hook that floored DLH...Quartey was a warrior and always wanted to give the fans what they wanted, and I think that's why we have this discussion because again his jab could have won him any fight if he used it the way he used to iunthe mid 90's.... The Oba Carr fight was a perfect example of this, he busted up Carr really bad the entire 12 rounds....He used his jab all night and it opened up his entire aresenal of what he was able to do in the ring...Al because he was able to set it up by throwing those 35-40 jabs per round....Great performance on that night by the way.... I think Quartey's jab would have been a nightmare for Trinidad because Trinidad puts a lot of weight on his front foot so that strong piston like jab of Quartey's would have knocked Trinidad off balance every time he threw it. But as you said, if Quartey gets lured into a brawl with Trinidad and abandons his jab, he can get caught and knocked out by the destructive power of Trinidad.

17y ago

IMDAZED

Solid assessment.....I think this is why i wish as close as ppl think the DLH fight was and as controversial as it def. was....I wish he get awarded the decision but he was such a dominant fighter when he was focused and man he really showed flashes of brilliance that night in 1999. If he had been awarded that decision.....I think that this isn't soo much an arguement that we need to make because he would have been able to take DLH "0" away from him as well as i think then having a HUGGEEE showdown with Felix "Tito" Trinidad, maybe not in terms of PPV quality buy's but in terms of who was the kingpin at 147@ that time.....This would have a been a battle and again another one of the Great Showdowns that we as the boxing public was unable to see...... I agree. Ike SHOULD have been awarded the decision against Oscar. I've watched that fight a gazillion times and no matter what, I always score it (close) for Ike. I also think, in his prime, he had the perfect style to beat Tito. That RIDICULOUS jab would've offset Tito each time he set up. But even byt he time he fought Oscar, Quartey was beginning to slow down. he hadn't fought in 14 months (and I thought it showed) and was coming off a strange performance against Jose Louis Lopez. Another layoff before the Vargas fight took the rest out of him.

17y ago

DanielTurcotte3

I think there were discussions for a fight between Quartey and Trinidad either before or after the Quartey-DLH fight, it would have been a great fight and if Quartey showed up focused and in shape, I would have given him a very good chance at beating Trinidad. It would have been a case of if Quarteywanted to really scrap with Tito....which as we have seen is what Quartey really loved to do.....I think if he just sat back and pumped that jab Tito would have really eaten a lot of shots, it he would have been opened up to Quartey right hand....His jab was a fuckin thing of beauty....If he went into all his fights witht the mindset of throwing 35-40 jabs per round, I don't think there would have been too many ppl that coulda beaten him and I don't personally think that we would be having this discussion as he had the possibility of being a shoe in....but Trinidad would have always had that option of landing his big left hook and we also know Quartey was able to be hit with this punch...Se DLH v Quartey i nthe 6th round when DLH floored him with a solid left hook....He didn't have a great chin, but he had the ability to recover from hitting the deck or from being KD, he always seemed able to get back up and continue to fight...Again see DLH V Quartey when he got off the deck to return a left hook that floored DLH...Quartey was a warrior and always wanted to give the fans what they wanted, and I think that's why we have this discussion because again his jab could have won him any fight if he used it the way he used to iunthe mid 90's.... The Oba Carr fight was a perfect example of this, he busted up Carr really bad the entire 12 rounds....He used his jab all night and it opened up his entire aresenal of what he was able to do in the ring...Al because he was able to set it up by throwing those 35-40 jabs per round....Great performance on that night by the way....

17y ago

Silencers

Solid assessment.....I think this is why i wish as close as ppl think the DLH fight was and as controversial as it def. was....I wish he get awarded the decision but he was such a dominant fighter when he was focused and man he really showed flashes of brilliance that night in 1999. If he had been awarded that decision.....I think that this isn't soo much an arguement that we need to make because he would have been able to take DLH "0" away from him as well as i think then having a HUGGEEE showdown with Felix "Tito" Trinidad, maybe not in terms of PPV quality buy's but in terms of who was the kingpin at 147@ that time.....This would have a been a battle and again another one of the Great Showdowns that we as the boxing public was unable to see...... I think there were discussions for a fight between Quartey and Trinidad either before or after the Quartey-DLH fight, it would have been a great fight and if Quartey showed up focused and in shape, I would have given him a very good chance at beating Trinidad.

17y ago

DanielTurcotte3

I don't think so, he really could have been but as mentioned earlier, he lost in all his big fights and was too inactive after the Vargas fight but at his best, he was a very, very good fighter. Solid assessment.....I think this is why i wish as close as ppl think the DLH fight was and as controversial as it def. was....I wish he get awarded the decision but he was such a dominant fighter when he was focused and man he really showed flashes of brilliance that night in 1999. If he had been awarded that decision.....I think that this isn't soo much an arguement that we need to make because he would have been able to take DLH "0" away from him as well as i think then having a HUGGEEE showdown with Felix "Tito" Trinidad, maybe not in terms of PPV quality buy's but in terms of who was the kingpin at 147@ that time.....This would have a been a battle and again another one of the Great Showdowns that we as the boxing public was unable to see......

17y ago

Silencers

I don't think so, he really could have been but as mentioned earlier, he lost in all his big fights and was too inactive after the Vargas fight but at his best, he was a very, very good fighter.

17y ago

IMDAZED

No, because I don't even think Fernando Vargas makes the hall of fame. So no way does Ike Quartay make the Hall. Well one thing doesn't have to do with the other at all, especially since Quartey was obviously not the same fighter when he met Vargas. Still, as good as a champion as he was, I wouldn't vote him into the Hall.

17y ago

DanielTurcotte3

Few more notes....Remember thaty the Vince Phillips that Ike Quartey destroyed in 3 rounds, went out in his next fight to KO Kosta Tyszu....... Also keep inmind just how talented this man was as I've read in posts prior to this you guys seem to agree that he may have had the best jab the Welterweight division has ever seen, not to mention I feel one of the best jab's in all of boxing. He would use this to beautifully set up his big right hand......But like what has been said prior we def. don't denythe fact that this man had great skills in the ring, but he will most likely be remembered for his losses..... Which is said cuz the guy was a hell of a fighter!!!!

17y ago

Slotff

Ike Quartay had the potential to be great, but never quite lived up to it. Too much inactivity, aswell as some bad descisions/performances in his carreer. (By descisions, I mean could-be-robberys-to-some)

17y ago

oldgringo

Quartey was headed for the HOF, but along with the very long layoffs he never seemed to recover from the close DLH loss. At his best Ike was excellent. It just wasn't for quite long enough. That's what I'm saying. From like '93 - '96 though...damn...Ike would just walk through people with that jab/right hand. I really wish he would have gotten the nods against Oscar and Forrest. He did more than enough to warrant the decision in both cases.

17y ago

oldgringo

Early-mid 90's Quartey was a fucking animal. One of the best left jabs boxing has ever seen. Right up there with Holmes, Ali, Monzon, and Louis.

17y ago

Scott9945

Quartey was headed for the HOF, but along with the very long layoffs he never seemed to recover from the close DLH loss. At his best Ike was excellent. It just wasn't for quite long enough.

17y ago

Kball15

No. I think he should be, but he never amounted to what he could have. No truly eye popping wins. Despite the fact that we all thought he lost to Forrest and maybe DLH, he still didnt get the official win and thats really what you gotta look at when ur thinking of something like the HOF

17y ago

Dan

I think it is pretty borderline. If I had to go either way I would say no due to the fact that, as someone has previously mentioned, he is largely known for his losses.

17y ago

ReadyUp

No, because I don't even think Fernando Vargas makes the hall of fame. So no way does Ike Quartay make the Hall.

17y ago

Texanballer7749

He was great, but he is known for losses

17y ago

oldgringo

He came up on the short end of his biggest fights and his career was somewhat plagued by inactivity. Ike is and will always be one of my favorite fighters, but I don't think he'll make the hall. The guy who beat Cris Espana and Vince Phillips is certainly deserving though.

17y ago