Keith Connolly joins Richard Commey camp
Michael Amoo-Bediako of Streetwise Management manager of IBF World Lightweight Champion Richard Commey of Ghana, has joined forces with respected U.S. manager Keith Connolly to assist in guiding Commey’s career.
Commey (28-2, 25 KOs) is preparing for his first world title defense, tentatively scheduled to occur in June or July. Commey is expected to make a voluntary defense, with his eyes on a unification bout versus WBA and WBO World Lightweight Champion Vasiliy Lomachenko, or a bout versus undefeating, rising 21-year-old Teofimo Lopez.
Lomachenko also suffered a hand injury in his last bout, a one-sided fourth-round stoppage of the overmatched Anthony Crolla in April. The Ukrainian is unlikely to return until the fall and has set his eyes on a match versus England’s Luke Campbell, possibly in the UK.
This would pave the way for a potential Commey-Lopez bout, a sure-fire Fight of the Year candidate, either later this year or in early 2020.
In preparation for these major bouts, the England-based Amoo-Bediako has hired Connolly to work with his Streetwise Management team as they begin to negotiate one of these fights.
Connolly is well-respected in the United States. His list of clients include current IBF World Middleweight Champion Daniel Jacobs, who will take on Canelo Alvarez this Saturday, unbeaten heavyweight contender Adam Kownacki, undefeated light heavyweight contender Marcus Browne, middleweight contender Sergey Derevyanchenko, and a host of others.
An announcement regarding Commey’s next bout is expected to occur shortly. The Ghanaian won his title in February, stopping Russia’s Isa Chaniev in two rounds at the Star in Frisco, Texas. Commey was to face Lomachenko on April 12, but his own hand injury from the Chaniev bout pushed the unification back.
Commey is tied to the New York-based DiBella Entertainment, headed by Lou DiBella. He is trained by Andre Rozier and Gary Stark Jr., out of Brooklyn, New York, where he currently resides.