Accra, March 9, GNA- A new dawn has arrived in the career of Ghana's welterweight boxer Joshua Clottey as the International Boxing Federation (IBF) named him the number one contender to their championship belt in the latest ratings released at the weekend.

Clottey now heads the pack of pugilists who are in tow for a crack at the title held by Kermit Cintron of the United States.

The Ghanaian, who promised to win a world title last year but did not get the chance to challenge for it despite the impressive victories he chalked in the year, is now poised to attain his target this year with the current development.

Behind Clottey in the queue of contenders are Andre Berto of the US, who is ranked second and Zab Judah also of the US, who occupies the third position.

Antonio Margarito of Mexico is the number four contender, followed by England's Ricky Hatton, Shane Mosely and Luis Collazo both of the US in the fifth, sixth and seventh positions respectively.

Richard Guttierez of Colombia, Roberto Garcia of the US and Niquel A. Rodrigue of Mexico complete the top 10 in descending order. Floyd Mayweather of the US is the WBC champion of the division, while Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto wears the WBA championship belt and Paul Williams of the US sits in as the WBO champion.

Ghana's Raymond Narh is ranked 13th by the IBF in the lightweight division and Joseph Agbeko reigns as the titlist in the bantamweight class.