Titles: WBC featherweight champion 1975-1976

Record: 38-7-1

Born: December 7, 1950 in Accra, Ghana

Years active: 1966-1989

Nickname: Poison  

If you were to sum up Kotey with one word it would be strength. If there was a 
ounce of fat on Kotey in his prime it would take a microscope to find it. Having 
said that it should not be thought of as his only asset, Kotey could box as well
but it was his strength both mental and physical that would propel him to a world
championship. Kotey to a large extent is also responsible for the current crop of 
excellent fighters to come out of Ghana, as he inspired a entire nation of men to 
take up boxing. Kotey began to box at the age of 15 and quickly earned the great
nickname of "Poison" as he stopped many of his opponents with a ease seldom seen 
before him in Africa. Kotey won the African featherweight title when he predictably 
knocked out Tahar Ben Hassan. Kotey would follow that championship by winning the 
Commonwealth title when he lured Scotland's Evan Armstrong to Accra. In a wild 
affair Kotey established his dominance from the 4th round on and Armstrong retired 
in his corner following the 10th round. This win established Kotey as the number 
one challenger of the WBC and a mandatory shot at Ruben Olivares. Kotey as the 
number 1 challenger set the tone of the fight early when he knocked Olivares with 
a hook in the first and dominated the first 10 rounds. Kotey faded in the later
rounds however and Olivares rallied late but it obviously to little to late. A 
crowd of 8,000 fans stole the glory Kotey deserved and worked for since he was 15 
years old. As the fight ended with the crowd well aware that Olivares was a beaten 
champion they began to throw bottles and chairs about the ring while fighting 
among themselves. Kotey was hustled out of the ring for his protection and his 
trainer was hit on the head with a chair and hospitalized. Kotey himself was so 
physically drained he could hardly talk after the bout. The decision was never 
announced to the crowd but 30 minutes later the decision in Kotey's favor was 
flashed on the overhanging scoreboard. As bad as it was in Los Angeles was as good 
as it was in Accra upon his return home. 600,000 people lined the streets of Accra 
to welcome Ghana's first world champion home. Two successful defenses followed 
before Kotey took on the challenge of little know Danny Lopez. The first was a 
gimmie as he beat David Sodelo easily. The second challenge came from Japan's 
Harugi Uehara a very accomplished fighter. Kotey rarely looked better and took 
Uehara out in 3 rounds earning the biggest purse of his career at $75,000. Kotey
would loose the title to Danny "little Red" Lopez however. Coming into the fight 
Kotey was a solid favorite but before 100,000 of his people at the Accra Sports 
stadium Lopez took him apart. It was a one sided affair that saw fans of Kotey 
leave the venue way before the final bell. It took 37 stitches (17 for his lower 
lip alone) to put Kotey back to together and the last 5 rounds were pure hell for 
Kotey who to his credit refused to quit. Lopez said after the fight "Anywhere 
else the fight would have been stopped. He wouldn't go down!" The fight obviously 
took a lot out of Kotey and he would ever show great form again. A rematch with
Lopez on the first Muhammad Ali vs. Leon Spinks card saw Kotey knocked out in six 
more one sided rounds. Kotey would also loose his commonwealth title that same 
year when Eddie Ndukwu of Nigeria defeated him. It was now obvious Kotey had little
left. Kotey retired from the ring and like other champs had two failed come back
attempts, the last came 1989 a amazing 12 years after he retired.   

                                             - 1966 -

+ (Feb-5-1966, Accra) Young Famous Lartey 6 
+ (Sep-3-1966, Accra) Abu Morgan ko 4 
+ (Dec-10-1966, Accra) Bob Cofie ko 6 

                                             - 1967 -

+ (Feb-5-1967, Togo) Emmanuel Dudzro 8 
+ (Mar-2-1967, Accra) Shido Armah ko 3 
+ (Jun-5-1967, Togo) Peter Aywith 10 

                                             - 1968 -

+ (Mar-1-1968, Precipe) Kid Killer ko 8 
+ (May-4-1968, Tomale) Abu Morgan 8 
+ (Aug-31-1968, Accra) Teddy Walker 8 

                                             - 1969 -

+ (Mar-1-1969, Brigade Gas Factory) Teddy Walker 8 
+ (Jun-14-1969, Black Star) Teddy Walker ko 4 
+ (Aug-30-1969, Precipe) Asebi Bookye ko 10 
+ (Dec-2-1969, Takoradi) Cassimo Alhasson ko 3 

                                             - 1970 -

+ (Mar-7-1970, Accra) Buddy Guy 8 
+ (Aug-29-1970, Accra) Buddy Guy 8 
+ (Sep-3-1970, Tomale) Joe Banks ko 3 
+ (Oct-30-1970, Koforidua) Joe Issaka ko 2 
+ (Nov-28-1970, Accra) Bob Seifu ko 3 

                                             - 1971 -

= (Jun-5-1971, Accra) Freddie Mensah 8 
+ (Dec-3-1971, Accra) Cassimo Alhasson ko 3 

                                             - 1972 -

- (May-29-1972, Melbourne) Andy Broome 10 
+ (Jun-22-1972, Melbourne) Alan Pressnell 10 
+ (Jun-29-1972, Sydney) Ted Bonner ko 10 
- (Jul-13-1972, Sydney) Rex Downward 10 
+ (Jul-27-1972, Sydney) Tony Cunningham 10 
+ (Aug-23-1972, Melbourne) Ray Ross ko 3 
+ (Oct-18-1972, Melbourne) Sakae Nakamura 10 

                                             - 1973 -

+ (Oct-6-1973, Accra) Bingo Crooks ko 6 
+ (Dec-14-1973, Kumasi) Peter Koloko ko 2 

                                             - 1974 -

+ (Feb-2-1974, Tunis) Tahar Ben Hassen ko 1 
+ (Nov-9-1974, Accra) Osmanu Toure ko 5 
+ (Dec-7-1974, Accra) Evan Armstrong kot 10  

                                             - 1975 -

+ (Sep-20-1975, Inglewood) Ruben Olivares 15 (W.B.C., Featherweight) 
+ (Dec-21-1975, Accra) David Sotelo 10 

                                             - 1976 -

+ (Mar-6-1976, Accra) Harugi Uehara kot 12 (W.B.C., Featherweight) 
+ (Jul-16-1976, Tokyo) Shig Fukuyama ko 3 (W.B.C., Featherweight) 
- (Nov-6-1976, Accra) Danny Lopez 15 (W.B.C., Featherweight) 

                                             - 1977 -

+ (Apr-30-1977, Accra) Billy Wade ko 5 
+ (Jul-30-1977, Accra) Laurent Bazie 15  
+ (Oct-30-1977, Accra) Jose Resto 10 
+ (Dec-4-1977, Accra) Victor Diaz ko 3 

                                             - 1978 -

- (Feb-15-1978, Las Vegas) Danny Lopez kot 6 (W.B.C., Featherweight) 
- (Sep-29-1978, Lagos) Eddie Ndukwu 15 

                                             - 1979 -

+ (Feb-3-1979, Accra) Tapsoba Tiga kot 8 

                                       - 1980-1981: inactive -

                                             - 1982 -

- (Apr-30-1982, Lagos) Davidson Andeh ko 9 

                                       - 1983-1988: inactive -

                                             - 1989 -

- (1989) Akwei Addo ko 5