Is my lack of enthusiasm a symptom of thinking the winner of the bout is a foregone conclusion?
I don’t think so. If anything, I think Clottey is a very tough opponent who has not really displayed a sure strategy to beat him. A strong natural welterweight with a concrete chin, I have often said when asked that he might be a more difficult out for Pacquiao that Cotto was.
If you go back and watch the Pacquiao-Cotto match up, you can see that Pacquiao basically followed the blue print drawn up by the “Tijuana Tornado” in 2008 when Margarito stopped the Boricua in the late rounds. Once Pacquiao felt comfortable with Cotto’s speed and power, the “Pac Man” walked down Cotto around the perimeter of the ring and attacked as the Caguas native would set up.
Joshua Clottey of Accra, Ghana
When Clottey dropped a unanimous decision to Margarito in ’06, it was clear that Clottey hurt both fists during the bout. With Margarito not climbing into the ring for over nine months prior to the bout, Clottey was giving the Tijuana fighter a run for his money in the early rounds until the injuries occured. Would Clottey been able to sustain the rhythm for all twelve rounds with out the injuries? We don’t know since Margarito did not grant him a rematch.
His bout against Cotto last year was much closer despite Clottey meeting the canvas in the first round in a flash knockdown. After causing a brutal gash over Cotto’s eye near the end of the third, Clottey pressured the Puerto Rican for the remainder of the bout in a twelve round fight that many observers believed the African won.
The split decision was awarded to Cotto.
But at the end, Pacquiao will be the clear winner.
Despite Clottey being the bigger, stronger fighter, the man from General Santos City is just one of a kind.
The One and Only, Manny "PacMan" Pacquiao
After the southpaw Pacquiao stopped the “Golden Boy” Oscar De La Hoya by the eight round in ’08, it was not clear how the once flyweight would perform in the much heavier division of welterweight. Although his bout with De La Hoya was set at the 145 lbs. mark, everybody agreed that the “Golden Boy’ was well beyond the top of the hill and almost to the base when Pacquiao got his hands on him.
When the Pacquiao-Cotto mega fight was announced for late last year, the build up was set on whether Pacquiao would be able to compete with a true welterweight in his prime. The promotion to the event was extraordinary with Pacquiao making appearances on network television, magazine covers and elsewhere that had not been seen since the heyday of one Mike Tyson and the “Golden Boy” himself. The hype generated for the possible Mayweather-Pacquiao fight and its eventual collapse might have even surpassed the attention Pacquaio-Cotto garnered.
Even though the Pacquiao face off against Clottey will be held at the massive Cowboys Stadium in Dallas, TX, with the full support of Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, I don’t feel that it has generated the same excitement.
Is it because it was scheduled too soon? is it Clottey?
In his devastating win over Cotto, all questions were answered of Pacquiao’s ability to perform in the welterweight division. With Clottey, Pacquiao will now go for extra credit.
Despite Clottey shell like defense, he is a stationary target which Pacquiao, at the prompting of his trainer Freddy Roach, will exploit with his speed and punch output deterring Clottey from establishing an attack.
Will Pacquiao be able to stop the man from Accra, Ghana? That is a question that soon will be answered.
I think I am looking forward to it now…
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