Perhaps there is something in the water in Bukom, the region of Accra most famous for fishing and fighting.
Or maybe centuries upon centuries of hard graft on the water has bred a genetic pattern which is calculated to have produced more world champions per square metre than anywhere else on the planet.
Richard Commey, however, has a far simpler hypothesis.
The man hoping to follow in the footsteps of Azumah Nelson, Ike Quartey and a long list of others as Bukom’s next boxing icon puts it bluntly.
‘Where I’m from,’ the Ghanaian says with a smile. ‘People just love to fight.’
Unassuming, quiet and shy, Commey is about as far removed from your typical boxer as humanly possible. That all changes when the gloves go on.
With a perfect 22-0 record, with 20 coming by way of knock-out, it is easy to understand why the world’s other top lightweights are not queuing up to face him.
‘In Bukom, you might see somebody gentle and quiet,’ he explains. ‘But when it comes to fighting they fight.
‘They have a never-say-die spirit and they never give up in anything they do. There is a lot of raw talent there.
‘You might get two little kids and they put gloves on them and they start fighting, they enjoy it. Then there will be a long queue and everyone wants to try. It’s a place where they have just got that in them.’
It helps explain why Nelson, putatively rated as Africa’s finest ever boxer, won three world titles during a glittering 47-fight career; or why Quartey held the WBA welterweight title for over four years. More recently, Joshua Clottey and Joseph Agbeko have both ruled the world too.
Commey adds: ‘Those two have had great careers but they are coming to the end of them now. We need someone new for everyone to follow. I believe that God has chosen me to be that one.’
But it has not been an easy route for the 28-year-old who could be described as one of the best-kept secrets in boxing. A background in kick-boxing, which included a two-year spell training in Dubai, meant he only took up the sport five years ago but he has since taken – and won – fights in Las Vegas, South Africa, Denmark and London, as well as Ghana.
He has, however, encountered one of the more perverse idiosyncrasies of the sport where, in some cases, having obvious ability can actually be a hinderance.
‘I’ll be walking down the street or I’ll be sleeping and it suddenly strikes me: “I’m really going to be a world champion”.’
The great Joe Frazier once famously told Marvin Hagler: ‘You have three strikes against you – you’re black, you’re southpaw and you’re good.’ The latter will certainly strike a chord with Commey.
Now with a perfect 22-0 record, with 20 coming by way of knock-out, it is easy to understand why the world’s other top lightweights are not queuing up to face him. There’s far too much to lose and not enough to gain – not that Commey cares.
‘I don’t have to worry because I know where I’m going,’ he says. ‘It can be frustrating for the team but I just worry about what I’m doing. If I lost focus and worried about what fights I’m getting, it would backfire on me.’
He can afford to be calm with a route to the world title now firmly mapped out by his team of manager Michael Amoo, trainer Carl Lokko and the forward-thinking Sauerland brothers, Nisse and Kalle, who recently signed a promotional agreement with the fighter.
Commey, who holds the Commonwealth title and the IBF inter-continental strap, is ranked fourth in the world with the International Boxing Federation and is set to fight for the world title within 12 months. He adds: ‘I feel like it’s really going to happen.
‘I’ll be walking down the street or I’ll be sleeping and it suddenly strikes me: “I’m really going to be a world champion”.’
Amoo, who has managed the fighter since a chance meeting in one of Bukom’s many gyms back in 2010, gets a little more frustrated, however.
We are currently in the midst of a golden age for Britain’s 9st 9lb men, with Terry Flanagan the WBO champion, Derry Mathews the WBA interim champion and the likes of Anthony Crolla, Kevin Mitchell and Ricky Burns not far behind the belt holders.
But, to date, none of them have gone anywhere near Commey. His manager says: ‘I’m sick and tired of hearing “fighting Richard is all risk and no reward”. That’s rubbish. If you beat him you could be next in line to fight for a world title – so it’s all reward.
‘But it’s that old adage of protecting your fighters. You’ve got all these lightweights in this country talking about being world class or being world title challengers but not one of their managers or promoters mention Richard’s name.’
Amoo operates out of his Pro SW gym on the outskirts of London, where Commey and Lokko are now based. The duo’s permanent move in August represented the next step of the journey towards world honours and a statement to Britain’s other top lightweights.
‘I truly believe it is God’s will and it is always good to bring joy to those people in Bukom.’
Commey said: ‘I’m representing my people and I know they are all behind me.
‘David fought for his whole life to be a king. When I look at that, if you understand what I’m saying here, I am doing the same thing but just in these modern times. It is my version.
‘I truly believe it is God’s will and it is always good to bring joy to those people in Bukom and to let the world know that Ghana boxing is not finished yet.’
Photography by Jim Fenwick
