Allotey moves closer to world title dream, now Ring Magazine No.10
Fast-rising Ghanaian boxer Theophilus Kpakpo Allotey has moved a step closer to achieving his world championship dreams after climbing the global rankings of several of the top sanctioning bodies in the first few days of the new year.
By the milestone, Allotey is well on pace to earn a world title opportunity in record time, having rounded off a whirlwind 17-month start to his pro career with a commanding unanimous points decision win over highly-rated Filipino boxer Jayr Raquinel to become the WBO Global super flyweight champion last December.
Having already clinched the national and UBO Africa super-flyweight titles, as well as the WBO Africa bantamweight belts, in just under one year since turning pro in July 2024, Allotey, fondly nicknamed "Theo Lopez", was already ranked number 15 in the world by the WBO.
But the victory over Raquinel, a former WBC Continental Americas champion who was ranked 10th by Ring Magazine, 12th by the WBO, fifth by the IBF and sixth by the WBC heading into the crunch clash on the Legacy Rise Sports/Matchroom Boxing mega show at the University of Ghana Stadium in Legon, has elevated the Ghanaian further into the conversation for potential challengers to any of the 115 lbs global titles.
In their latest ratings, updated on January 8, the highly regarded Ring Magazine rankings have seen Allotey make his first entry in 10th place, clearly knocking Raquinel out and fully establishing his position among the big boys of the highly talented division ruled by 25-year-old undefeated American Jesse "Bam" Rodriguez.
Allotey, who is expected to enter the top 5 when the WBO releases its next world rankings, has also replaced Raquinel in the IBF world rankings at number 13, number 10 in IBO, number 11 on Boxrec, where he is Ghana's number one pound-for-pound fighter and number 4 in Africa.
A champion in and out of the ring, Allotey returns with the second edition of his community support initiative, "Rumble in Bukom" E-Boxing tournament for the youth, featuring 12 clubs and 64 players, in partnership with the E-Sports Ghana Federation at the James Town Community Centre on January 25. As with the maiden edition last year, mouthwatering prizes are at stake for winners, who could also earn selection into the national E-Sports teams.
Allotey, 23, is already scheduled to defend the WBO Global title against a top-10-rated boxer in Accra on Independence Day, March 6. With sights set on conquering the world, Theophilus Allotey and his team, led by the vastly experienced Coach Kwasi Ofori Asare, are leaving nothing to chance and are already deep in preparations for the Independence Day bout.
"He is going for the world title. He has a team committed to helping him achieve it. We will all take pride when he becomes a champion, so this is the time for the corporate world and Ghanaian boxing enthusiasts to come on board to help him," said Sarah Lotus Asare, manager of Allotey and administrator at the Wisdom Boxing Gym.
"He has proven that he can do it when given the right support. We are grateful to the promoters and all the people who have supported and given opportunities to Theo to fight and get to where he is now," said Ms Asare, also a history-making first elected female Executive Board member of the Ghana Boxing Federation.
