'Quiet' Quartey hopes to shake off rust for De La Hoya fight

Ike Quartey walked into the Golden Gloves Gym virtually expressionless.

He was somber, or "focused" as his interpreter would later say.

When quickly approached by a gym rat and asked to autograph a poster promoting his Saturday fight with Oscar De La Hoya at the Thomas & Mack Center, Quartey took the pen that was offered and politely signed. But he never uttered a word, and he wouldn't throughout his Monday workout.

For a man fighting the "Golden Boy," silence apparently is golden.

Marketing? Ticket sales? Quartey, a native of Ghana who speaks very little English, seemingly has no interest in feathering his own nest.

"The language barrier is very difficult," said fellow African and Las Vegas resident Cornelius-Boza Edwards, a former junior lightweight world champion who was also at the gym. "I would want to educate the guy, so at least it doesn't seem like an insult to American culture to have someone come to this country who doesn't speak the language but is going to take the peoples' money.

"But one thing you have to remember is that Quartey is being paid $4 million for this fight, and everyone he knows is telling him 'You're making more money than any other African fighter in history.' In that situation, it's easy to be complacent."

Public-relations shortcomings aside, Quartey goes into his fight with De La Hoya for the World Boxing Council welterweight title with more than the traditional puncher's chance. He's 34-0-1 with 29 knockouts in a career that dates from 1988.

However, Quartey has not fought in 16 months and has not won a fight since handling Ralph Jones in five rounds back on April 18, 1997, in Las Vegas.

Perhaps as a result of that inactivity, ticket sales for the De La Hoya fight are lagging a bit and Quartey is a 4-to-1 underdog in many of the city's sports books.

Nonetheless, during at least one stint with Las Vegas reporters -- last Thursday -- he predicted an upset victory. And he says it will come by knockout.

"I must win by knockout," he stated, implying that he wasn't expecting a fair shake from the judges. "It will be a bloody fight, a real mess. I can't win by decision, so I have to win by knockout."

A former World Boxing Association champion at 147 pounds, Quartey is belt-less for his meeting with De La Hoya. The WBA stripped him of his title for failing to defend it against the mandatory challenger within a reasonable length of time.

He also lost a potential lucrative fight with Pernell Whitaker when Whitaker was suspended shortly after the bout was arranged. And he also lost his perfect record when Jose Luis Lopez worked him for a draw in Quartey's most recent fight, Oct. 17, 1997, in Ledyard, Conn.

The youngest of 27 children, Quartey is 29 years old and possesses an especially dangerous right hand. Among his victims is current International Boxing Federation junior welterweight champ Vince Phillips, as well as Oba Carr, who is fighting Frankie Randall on Saturday's undercard.

Fending for himself in a cluttered household turned Quartey into the big hitter he is today.

"When you're the youngest, you've got to be the strongest," he said last week. "I've been fighting in the streets since I was eight years old, sometimes twice a day. I lost once to a 15-year-old, but he was much bigger than me."

Quartey will get another chance to measure himself against De La Hoya today in Los Angeles, as the pair participate in a press conference there. De La Hoya will also be a guest on Tuesday's Tonight Show with Jay Leno, before heading for Las Vegas and a Wednesday press conference here.

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