Death of a Fighter

[Big D at SC]

Hey, folks.

I live here in the San Jose area of California, and in the paper today
they listed the obituary of a near great fighter by the name of Love
Allotey.

Love Allotey was a born in Accra, Ghana on December 16, 1941. His real
name was Sumoo Pappoe Allotey. He was a very intelligent man, who spoke
six languages, including English, Danish, Spanish, Italian, Tagalog, and
his native Twi.

He began fighting at the age of 14, and at 126 pounds, was a natural
featherweight. He learned fast, and was very talented, quickly defeated
all the opposition he could find in his home country. He soon moved to
Europe, where he won the European featherweight championship.

Boxing magazine, at the time, called him the "uncrowned" champion, since
he was so good, yet the champion wouldn't fight him. He rose to #2 in the
world, but could not secure a title fight.

He became frustrated at his inability to get a shot at the title, and
opted to move up to Junior Welterweight, even though he was never able to
gain the extra pounds. There he was able to get a shot at the champion,
then a Philippine native called Gabriel "Flash" Elorde.

On November 16th, 1963, he got his chance, and he made the best of it. By
the end of the 10th round, he had the champion going, having nearly closed
both his eyes. He came out in the 11th with the intent of finishing his
man off, and seemed to be cruising to victory. Then it became apparent
that the hometown fix was in. The ref stepped in and stopped it,
disqualifying Allotey for what he described as "aggressive fighting."
Allotey knew he'd been had, after all, he said, "I thought that's what
fighting was about!"

It was probably one of the biggest robberies in boxing history.

Allotey fought on, and continued to fight as a Junior Welterweight even
though he was still a natural featherweight. He lost only twice, and was
never knocked down.

He moved to California in the late 1960s and thought he would be able to
get a lot of fights with the lighter guys from south of the border, but
found that he was too respected, and couldn't get a serious challenge.

In 1970, in the San Jose Civic Auditorium, Love Allotey bet the Philippine
featherweight champion Jet Parker.

Three years later he ended his career with a victory over Aurelio Muniz.

His wife, Angela Wright, who survives him, said of him, "Mostly, Love
Allotey was quiet and unassuming about his prizefighting career, but
occasionally he would get upset. He felt like he didn't have a fair
chance. He was very good at what he did."

He is survived by his former wife, Angela Gail Wright; sons Sumoo Pappoe
and Nik Akwei (also a fighter); brother Daniel Allotey; sisters Mary Larbi
and Patricia Pappoe.

The family has asked that those interested make any donations in Mr.
Allotey's name to;

the American Heart Association
1 Almaden Blvd
San Jose, CA 95113

Just thought you guys would like to know.

Big D at SC

[Waikiki Tom]

Yes, Love Allotey was a great fighter and my friend a wonderful quiet, modest man who when entering a ring became a holy terror. Along with Love, his Biafra friend and fellow fighter Cyclone Barth , two great fighters from another era who were taken advantage by the corrupt sport. Love Allotey, a great fighter, great man, my friend. Rest In Peace

[SkippyPB]

On Sat, 11 Jan 2014 12:54:33 -0800 (PST), Waikiki Tom
<Minc...@gmail.com> wrote:

>Yes, Love Allotey was a great fighter and my friend a wonderful quiet, modest man who when entering a ring became a holy terror. Along with Love, his Biafra friend and fellow fighter Cyclone Barth , two great fighters from another era who were taken advantage by the corrupt sport. Love Allotey, a great fighter, great man, my friend. Rest In Peace

For those not famaliar with this name, Love Allotey was born 16
December 1936 and was a Ghanaian professional feather/super
feather/light/light welterweight boxer of the 1950s, '60s and '70s who
won the Ghanaian featherweight title, and British Commonwealth
lightweight title, and was a challenger for the British Commonwealth
featherweight title against Floyd Robertson, and World Boxing Council
(WBC) super featherweight title, and World Boxing Association (WBA)
World super featherweight title against Gabriel "Flash" Elorde, his
professional fighting weight varied from 124 1?4 lb (56.4 kg; 8 st
12.3 lb), i.e. featherweight to 135 1?2 lb (61.5 kg; 9 st 9.5 lb),
i.e. light welterweight.

His last fight was in 1975 and he finished with a 38-19-3 record.

Regards,
--

////
(o o)
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Remove nospam to email me.

Steve

[hine...@gmail.com]

I was a young boy when my father Vinnie Hines brougbt Love over from Europe. I remember getting to go to SF airport to pick him up, I'll always remember Love & Cyclone as gentle souls until they entered the ring. I don't believe there was a better time in SanJose boxing than the late 60s & 70s with those 2, Ray Echevarria & the Argentinans, Roberto Amaya,Carlos Salinas,Eduardo Corletti & then Ray Lunney III out of San Carlos. Great memories & God Bless

[Emanuel Berg]

Lots of good karma in this post. Thank you :)

--
underground experts united
http://user.it.uu.se/~embe8573

[cookiebi...@gmail.com]

Hello. Not sure if this will reach you but I believe that I am the great-grandaughter of Love and an trying to find some more history. I would be forever thankful if you could tell me anything or point me in the right direction. Would love it if we could talk. Thanks
Sincerely
Bianca Wyse

[rrr...@gmail.com]

How is your father Vinnie? He trained me for awhile I think I was one of his last fighters. I miss him He was always good to me and one of the best trainers I ever had.

Please tell him Ray Ruiz sends his best and says thank you for everything!