With the boxing world’s attention focused on American, Mexican and British boxers, it’s easy to dismiss boxing scenes in other nations. I am going to take a look at boxers in different countries and take a look at their featured fighters.

This week I have chosen Ghana. Because? Because I saw the fight between Joseph Agbeko and Abner Mares and despite his loss, the Ghanaian Agbeko was very impressive. Ghana is a rich source of tough and technically proficient fighters, with several boxers competing at the highest level. Let’s take a look at some of his best:

Azumah Nelson – National Hero of Ghana

39 wins

6 losses

2 draws

28 KOs

Azumah “The Professor” Nelson fought from 1979 until 2008 when he made an ill-advised comeback. In his career, he has won three WBC world title belts, two at super featherweight and one at featherweight. He beat some of the best fighters of the day and was known to have a punch that could knock out an elephant (although an experiment was never conducted to prove it).

Nelson retired in 1998 after a loss to former American world champion Jesse James Leija, the man who beat Mickey Ward, among others. In 1998, Nelson was 39 years old and riding a two-game losing streak. He was slowing down and many felt it was a good time for him to quit. He took his advice and hung up the gloves, but no one could have seen what he would do ten years later.

In 2008, forty-nine years and ten years after his last fight, Azumah Nelson announced to the world that he was ready to fight again. Many scoffed at the idea, after all, he was too old to earn anything significant. But Nelson was not intimidated and fought his old rival Jeff Fenech and lost a ten round majority decision. He didn’t win the fight but he went all the way, and Nelson could retire having given a good account of himself. Today, he is one of Ghana’s most celebrated heroes.

Joseph Agbeko – Ghana’s Best Today

28 wins

2 losses

0 draws

22 KOs

Thirty-one-year-old Joseph Agbeko (28-2 22KOs) is the best boxer fighting under Ghanaian nationality today. Nicknamed King Kong, he packs a heavy punch for someone at bantamweight and is ranked No. 3 in The Ring’s bantamweight rankings. In Sogakope, Ghana, he has been named Chief Warrior in honor of his boxing exploits.

Agbeko has held the IBF bantamweight title twice in his career, only losing it on August 13 to Mexican bantamweight Abner Mares. It was a controversial decision, with Mares landing and getting away with several cheap blows, but on the night Agbeko was taken down.

Throughout his career, Agbeko has always set out to fight the best. He has beaten Yonnhy Perez in a rivalry that also saw him lose a fight, and in 2009 he picked up a win over former WBA/WBC/IBF undisputed super flyweight world champion Vic Darchinyan.

What’s next for Joseph Agbeko?

Having lost his IBF belt to Abner Mares, Agbeko will need to overcome the unfairness of the decision, pick himself up and move on. He is making sounds that he would like a rematch with Mares and, in turn, Mares has indicated that he would be up for it. This is a rematch that no one will miss, with Agbeko seeking revenge and Mares wanting to prove that he is the worthy winner.

Osumanu Adama – Current IBO International Middleweight Champion

19 wins

2 losses

0 draws

14 KOs

Osumanu (19-2-0) is Agbeko’s leading contender for the throne of Ghana’s best boxer. The thirty-year-old middleweight has a classic boxing style and has a good KO record, as he recently defeated Marcus Upshaw via technical knockout.

Adama is still relatively young, so much more is expected of him, and he needs to fight better quality opposition to really progress up the ladder. However, in case the whole boxing thing doesn’t pan out, he has a Diploma in Mechanical Engineering which he earned from Kotobabi Technical College.

Joshua Clottey – The Batter

35 wins

4 losses

0 draws

20 KOs

Former welterweight champion Joshua Clottey is perhaps most famous for his loss to Manny Pacquiao in 2010 in what was dubbed “The Event.” The fight was for the WBO World Welterweight Championship and Clottey was only used as a replacement when the Pacquiao Mayweather fight fell through. Clottey lost a decision after twelve rounds.

Clottey has fought big names and has big wins to his credit, including a win over former undisputed welterweight champion Zab Judah in 2008. His style relies on speed and power to win his fights, twenty of them by knockout. . He is also a difficult man to take down himself, as he has never lost by knockout.

What’s next for Clottey?

Well not much. His last fight was his loss to Pacquiao in 2010 and he has yet to have another scheduled. Assuming he fights in early 2012, that leaves a two-year gap between his last fight. He’ll definitely need a warm-up fight and, assuming he wins, who knows. He is young enough to get back in shape and compete for belts again. Don’t trust that though, he was paid so much for the Pacquiao fight that he probably won’t need to fight anymore.

Raymond Narh – Current WBC USNBC Light Welterweight Champion

25 wins

2 losses

0 draws

21 KOs

Raymond “Sugar Ray” Narh (25-2 21KO’s) is a heavy hitter coming out of the light welterweight division. He is a capable boxer and one of Ghana’s top three boxers. At thirty-three he has never won a world title and it’s safe to say that kind of success is beyond him now. The best he can hope for is to move up the ranks and compete for some lesser belts.

A recent loss to Mike Alvarado set him back on this score, and on top of this, there are better fighters than him in his division. Fighters like Timothy Bradley and Amir Khan are completely beyond him, making a slight move toward his best hope of success.

Narh has a fight on August 27 for the WBC International Light Welterweight title against Thai Prawet Singwancha. Narh is believed to win against the thirty-four-year-old Singwancha and hopes that will put him back on track for a world title. His hopes may be in vain, however, in May 2011 he said:

“I’m still the WBC USNBC Champion and bigger things await us, like the Zion train.”