When Emmanuel and Joshua Clottey were growing up in Ghana, they used to play fight. Then, they started sparring together. Not long after that, the two brothers found themselves on the same fight card in England.
On Friday, they will bring their act to The Crown Plaza Times Square as part of six-bout slugfest presented by DiBella Entertainment.
Older brother Emmanuel, 36, will headline the evening when he faces Jesus Santiago (8-5-1, 1 KO) for the IBA Continental Americas Junior Welterweight Championship.
Emmanuel (20-5, 14 KO’s), who is coming off an impressive knockout win over Olympic gold medalist Mohammed Abdullaev, can’t wait to get back into the ring.
“I am so excited about this fight. I have been training hard and am looking forward to the challenge ahead,” Clottey said. “It’s also going to be even more exciting because my brother will fight as well.”
Joshua, 26, has drawn Jeffrey Hill (23-4, 18 KO’s) for his American debut.
The younger brother sports a 24-1 record along with 17 KO’s. His only professional loss came on a controversial disqualification to Carlos Baldomir in London in 1999.
“I feel like I need to win this fight to gain the respect of my peers,” said Joshua, ranked ninth by the WBO. “A win will make it feel like I belong here.”