Joshua Clottey Hits Back �At Brother

Former International Boxing Federation (IBF) champion Joshua �The Hitter� Clottey, has reacted to his big brother, Emmanuel Clottey�s recent media reports. The senior brother had accused Joshua of stopping his (Emmanuel) fights and referring to him as a psychologically disturbed person. Joshua however told Daily Guide Sports exclusively that the reason for his actions was due to his exceptional interest in the wellbeing of his senior sibling. �I have realized he is not a mentally stable person at the moment, basically because of his marital issues and the fact that he is jobless at the moment. �I watched his last fight against Michael Alvarado. A blow sent him down in the last round and it took the medical team close to 11 minutes to revive him. �I am afraid he will suffer the same fate should he go back to the ring, hence my actions,� said Joshua. He said three things had let his brother down- his marriage, stubbornness to boxing managers and failure to heed his (Joshua�s) advice to stay in the US. Joshua revealed that despite the brother�s failure to heed his counsel, he kept remitting him on monthly basis until recently when the older one went to the media to �wash the family�s dirty linen in public�. The former World champion said he had tried several times to draw his big brother to himself because of his recent precarious situation, but to no avail.�I asked him to join me at my East Legon residence but he has refused. My brother, the problem started when he told me he was coming to Ghana and I told him to stay and work in the US. �His former manager also advised him on the same issue but he will not listen. He approached me for financial assistance so he would not become a liability, I consented and gave him and the spouse GHC9,000 but nothing good came out of it. �You see, it�s a long story, but let me summarize it. He recently asked me to pay his children�s fees and I told him I can�t do that because if I fail to continue in future it will create problems between us. �He also asked for a VW saloon car I was using, but I refused because I have realized his jobless situation will make it impossible for him to fuel the car, let alone maintain it. �My advice to him against the lady he married is one of the reasons he has become bitter, but as we speak, his marriage is hitting the rocks. �He would not listen. I even decided to make him my assistant trainer so that the money I pay the trainers will go to him but he will not take my advice. �For now, I spend close to GHC3,000 a month on our father�s chronic ailment as well as other family commitments, don�t forget I also have my responsibilities, � Joshua added. To Joshua, supporting each other as siblings has always been his priority, but his big brother is not cooperating with him. �I love the Gyan brothers so much because of how they relate to each other. I admire Barfuor so much because you see him supporting the junior one, Asamoah all the time, but the same cannot be said about the Clottey brothers.�