Manny Pacquiao -vs- Joshua Clottey

[clevfan]

For Joshua Clottey, a career-defining opportunity comes against Manny Pacquiao

Clottey, a 15-2 underdog in Saturday’s WBO welterweight title fight, is ready to give Pacquiao ‘the fight of his life.’

March 11, 2010|By Lance Pugmire
LA TIMES

Reporting from Arlington, Texas — Joshua Clottey has already addressed all questions about his desire out of the ring.

Now, as he completes his preparations for Saturday night's WBO welterweight title fight against Manny Pacquiao, the mystery surrounding Clottey is whether the big underdog can produce the performance of his lifetime. Oddsmakers don't think so: Pacquiao is a 15-2 favorite.

Clottey (35-3, with 21 knockouts) was raised with little education in the African country of Ghana. He made daily trips to the sea as a youngster to reel in fish that he would sell to help support a family he described as "transient." But Clottey, 33, had the good fortune to follow his older brother, Emmanuel, into a sport that proved to be his calling.

"Some guy thought I could fight and put some gloves on me," Clottey said, recalling that when he was 6, he was sent into a bout against a larger youth who promptly slugged him in the stomach and caused him to lose his lunch. "I stayed at it. I learned. This was the way I was going to become somebody."

Thirty-eight fights into his professional career, Clottey's ability to avoid the hurtful blows like the one he sustained so long ago most defines him. Fighting against men who yearned for the same path out of Africa, Clottey never lost a pro bout in his native country.

He is made in the tradition of the greatest fighters from his country, boxers such as Ike Quartey and Azumah Nelson: tough, deliberate, balanced.

And driven.

"I see 1,000 kids come through my gym who say they want it, but they're not mentally tough like this guy," said Jimmy Gjini, owner of John's Gym in the South Bronx, where Clottey trains. "This guy's always in shape. He's focused, whether it's hitting the bag or jumping rope. There's never any playing around with him.

"I know Pacquiao's good, but he's human and I think Joshua will shock the world and show everyone the potential he has."

Unquestionably, Pacquiao shares with Clottey the attributes of being fueled by a youthful struggle. What separates the champion is that Pacquiao has showcased his ring skills so superbly in recent brilliant performances that his opponents are relegated to underdog status.

Clottey's edge, however, is the meaning of Saturday night.

Because of Pacquiao's popularity, mammoth Cowboys Stadium is expected to have a crowd of about 40,000 for the fight. But this date was supposed to be a Pacquiao bout against unbeaten Floyd Mayweather Jr., a mega-fight the boxing world had clamored for with each fighter receiving a $25-million guarantee. A dispute over drug testing, loaded with unquenchable ego-motivated demands, left that bout on the scrap heap.

No matter how the Pacquiao camp talks about the Filipino's unyielding dedication — regardless of his opponent — this bout still has the distinct feel of a consolation event.

Not so for the challenger, who takes pride in spreading the word among friends, family and reporters that his bigger size, discipline and defense will bother Pacquiao and affect the outcome of the fight. Clottey was in Ghana when he learned that the Pacquiao-Mayweather negotiations collapsed. "This is it," Clottey told friends.

"He's going to fight Pacquiao all night," Clottey's friend Bismark Bruce said.

Fight promoter Bob Arum says that although "no one can beat Manny Pacquiao, Clottey will make the best show. He brings it. He's tougher than Mayweather. Any time a little guy goes in with the bigger guy who's already fought everyone, you have to consider the bigger guy."

Clottey is embracing this "Rocky" moment.

"I'm ready to give him the fight of his life," Clottey said. "I'm more focused, more determined because people will see this all over the world and this fight is for my people in Ghana. I want to make them happy. I'm going to win."

"Pacquiao's now fighting a real 147-pounder," Clottey's trainer, Lenny de Jesus, said. "[He plans] to push Manny against the ropes. Manny doesn't fight well going backward. We're going to force the fight, create openings doing so and hit him with strong shots. We'll throw a lot of punches. If he listens, we'll pull it off."

In the view of Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach, Clottey still has to prove he has an answer for Pacquiao's speed advantage and that he can avoid tipping off his punches. In past fights, Clottey has relied on a passive defense when tired, and that probably cost him a close decision loss to Miguel Cotto last June.

"Clottey is very strong — I respect him, but he has a tendency to cover his face too much and go into that shell," Roach said. "Clottey is not as offensive as some of the guys we've fought. You have to throw punches to win fights.

"I think we'll get him before we got Cotto (12th-round TKO). We'll pound him with body shots, and it will be too much. He'll get hit more than he ever has in his life."

Of course, Clottey knows how to take and dodge punches.

It's why he'll be standing in the center of the ring Saturday waiting for Pacquiao, and for his life's work to pay off.

[clevfan]

Not a Super Bowl, but Pacquiao an event

By TIM DAHLBERG (AP) – 12 hours ago

ARLINGTON, Texas — The czar of boxing was so devastated the fight didn't happen, it took him weeks to get over it.

The (not Don) King of promoters was so mad he could barely utter Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s name.

And the emperor of Dallas felt like he had just lost the Super Bowl.

"I wanted that fight here with those two fighters worse than my next breath," Jerry Jones said.

The fight, of course, was Mayweather against Manny Pacquiao, and it fell apart despite the frenzied efforts of some of the biggest names in boxing and one of the biggest egos in Texas. If not for a nasty dispute over blood testing, it might have filled Cowboy Stadium and given Jones the kind of megafight he believes his new $1.2 billion edifice rightfully deserves.

Instead, he had to settle for the hottest fighter in the game. He got Pacquiao, but even a salesman like Jones can't fool anyone into believing Joshua Clottey is Mayweather.

So he's selling Pacman. He's selling the event which, appropriately enough, is titled "The Event."

Mostly, he's selling his stadium.

"This is going to be big time," Jones said. "I'm going to over-deliver."

That should make the 45,000 fans expected to show up Saturday night happy, and it will certainly please de facto boxing boss Ross Greenburg and promoter Bob Arum. They couldn't put together the fight that everyone wanted, but, between the show in Dallas and the May 1 show featuring Mayweather against Shane Mosley in Las Vegas, they've rebounded to produce a decent substitute.

They've also gotten a new ally for the sport in Jones, who is already better at selling fights than he is at picking wide receivers.

"The thing that's blown me away is what an unbelievable promoter this guy is," Arum said. "He never gets tired. We took a two-day trip to Mexico and he was able to drink everybody under the table and kept going. He gave dozens and dozens of interviews to Mexican media outlets. It's really something to see."

Dallas is hardly Las Vegas, of course, and once the novelty act that is the stadium starts to wear thin Jones will need a better matchup to fill so many seats. Clottey is a fine enough fighter, but he's never sold a ticket on his own, and oddsmakers make him a 5-1 underdog in the welterweight bout against a fighter who seems to get better with each fight.

But his plan to invite Cowboys of old and present, toss in a few cheerleaders and show it all on the huge overhead screens that will reveal every drop of sweat, should be more than enough to make it a memorable evening, if not a great show.

It should also be enough to get respectable pay-per-view numbers, something that Greenburg, head of sports at HBO, watches closely.

"Just the curiosity of seeing a 20-by-20 foot ring in that massive stadium should attract some attention," Greenburg said. "That, plus Jerry Jones as the co-promoter and the star power of Pacquiao, is what really makes this an event."

Greenburg thought he would be putting on a pay-per-view for the ages this weekend with a Pacquiao-Mayweather fight that would have done huge numbers. But even he couldn't get Mayweather to back off on blood testing demands that eventually killed the bout.

"It took me two to three weeks just to get over a pretty frustrated and sad state," Greenburg said. "I knew we were on the cusp of generating so much mainstream interest in boxing. We were hitting on all cylinders and got a flat tire. It was definitely a wound."

The wound is already starting to heal. The Pacquiao-Clottey fight is drawing plenty of attention, and the Mayweather-Mosley fight is such a good matchup that it doesn't need a glittering new stadium to boost sales.

And, of course, if both Pacquiao and Mayweather win, there likely will be another chance to making this fight happen sometime in the fall.

"Hopefully, calmer and more rational business minds can sit at a table and resolve the negotiations if that happens," Greenburg said. "Right now we have to look positively at what we have. We've got two conference championship games now, and hopefully we can have a Super Bowl."

The football analogy works for Jones, who sees a lot of parallels between the sport and boxing. He also sees a lot of business potential in mixing the two, particularly in reaching the Hispanic fans who tend to watch boxing in higher numbers than any other demographic.

Jones didn't get the fight he really wanted, but he's throwing a party anyway. Arum, meanwhile, is getting a sidekick who could give a lot of boxing promoters a run for the money if he didn't already have a day job.

Told the other day that Jones sells standing room only tickets in his new stadium for Cowboy games and calls them "party passes," Arum was almost beside himself.

"He's the best promoter I've ever run into," Arum said. "Party passes for standing room only? What a genius!"

[Uncle B]

I just hope he can make it at least a bit interesting.....Anythings possible, Pacquiao could be taking this too lightly, but i doubt it.

[Uncle B]

should have it's moments...

[Buck Swope]

great writeup Uncie

[ChuckyTheGoat]

Unc, if you could come w/ Round-by-Rd updates...that would be great.

Thx!

[j]

Found it on SkyTV.

Live Boxing UFC and WWE Online | Live Stream of HBO Boxing | Free PPV Streaming of Boxing,UFC and WWE

[Buck Swope]

Originally Posted by ChuckyTheGoat

Unc, if you could come w/ Round-by-Rd updates...that would be great.

Thx!

about to start RD11

100-90 Pac (total shutout)

[Total Square]

wish i could get that hour of my life back YAWN

[Buck Swope]

judge: Levi Martinez 119-109 | judge: Nelson Vazquez 119-109 | judge: Duane Ford 120-108

[Uncle B]

Originally Posted by ChuckyTheGoat

Unc, if you could come w/ Round-by-Rd updates...that would be great.

Thx!

sorry Chuck, i was planning on it, but, the wife snatched the comp while i was watching the undercard...

wasn't a whole lot to report anyways really, Pacquiao pretty much owned him every round....Clottey never gave the impression he ever even intended to try to actually win, but, to just make it the full 12 rounds....


Lopsided, uneventful fight all the way through...

[SlipperyPete]

Originally Posted by Total Square

wish i could get that hour of my life back YAWN

On the other hand.... easy money son

How do you make a guy who is 51-3 (or something like that) a 5-1 favorite

[Uncle B]

I thought the stadium was great for the card, but, i was pretty much floored when Michael Buffer introduced the 3 Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders, to sing the National Anthem.


I mean, seriously man........holy shit, that just seemed like a practical joke.

[StarnetGypsy]

Originally Posted by clevfan

It paid off handsomely for Pacquiao, who earned at least $12 million.

Clottey didn't do too bad either considering he lost a 'yawner'

We’re like the Philippines, third world. It’s very hard to make money,” said Clottey, who will earn $1.2 million for facing Pacquiao. It’s a paycheck he’s never gotten close to all his life.

set for life if he's smart ...

[stevo]

The guy still alive this morn?

Didnt watch it.

[Uncle B]

Originally Posted by StarnetGypsy

Clottey didn't do too bad either considering he lost a 'yawner'



set for life if he's smart ...

shit, he's lucky if he walks away with $250.000 after everyon gets their cuts.



he can still compete in his division for awhile too though, he is talented, just not on the same level as a Pacquiao.

[Uncle B]

Right Now --HBO is relplaying this weekends fight between Manny Pacquiao vs Joshua Clottey...



just a headsup to anyone wanting to check it all all the way through.

[Uncle B]

Joshua Clottey has apologized to boxing fans for his pitiful performance against Pacquiao last March.

In an interview with Boxing Scene.com, Clottey admitted that in the March 13 fight, which he lost via a lopsided decision, the Filipino seemed to read his movements well and always beat him to the punch.

“Every time I would punch, he would hit me. He always seemed to know when I was going to hit and that makes it a lot harder… He knew what I was going to do,” said the Ghanaian boxer.

Clottey was considered one of the elite welterweights prior to the Pacquiao match.

Boxing aficionados scorned Clottey’s performance during “The Event” match against Pacquiao at the Cowboys stadium in Texas where the Ghanaian resorted to “turtle defense,” almost refusing to trade punches with the Filipino boxer.

Pacquiao, in contrast, threw more than 1,000 punches, earning the judges’ decision. He thus retained the World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight crown.

Although he admitted the “Fighter of the Decade” outpunched him, Clottey claimed he wasn’t hurt by Pacquiao’s relentless attack.

“I didn't feel like his punches really hurt me. I felt okay after. I didn't feel like I was going down. He just throws a lot of punches and from all over so he really gets you a lot,” said Clottey.

“I just want to tell my fans I am really really sorry with what happened in my last fight. I know they are disappointed… I really don't understand what happened to me in that fight. I just think it was one of those things,” he said.

This was the first time Clottey spoke about the fight after disappearing from the media spotlight following "The Event."