By Lem Satterfield, FanHouse
Seven-division champion, Manny Pacquiao, has agreed in principle to defend his WBO welterweight (147 pounds) belt against Joshua Clottey of Accra Ghana, on March 13 at The Dallas Cowboys' Stadium on Mar, his adviser, Michael Koncz said on Saturday morning.
Pacquiao's Top Rank Promoter, CEO Bob Arum, and Top Rank president, Todd duBoef, Arum's stepson, are flying to Arlington, Texas, on Saturday morning where they expect "to close the deal," after watching the Dallas Cowboys- Philadelphia Eagles NFL playoff game "in the box of" Cowboys owner, Jerry Jones, Arum told FanHouse on Friday.
"Clottey's manager [Vinny Scolpino] and his lawyer have signed off, and it's the same with Manny," said Arum, of Clottey, who is expected to fly back and arrive on Monday or Tuesday to his residence in the Bronx from Ghana.
Pacquiao-Clottey will take place instead of what was to be a historically lucrative megabout between 31-year-old Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 knockouts) and 32-year-old, five-time king, Floyd Mayweather (40-0,25 KOs), that was scheduled for March 13 at Las Vegas' MGM Grand before the negotiations failed over a drug-testing controversy.
"We're 98 percent done negotiating for Manny to fight Joshua Clottey, but there are a couple of issues we're working out on the contract before Manny Pacquiao is ready to sign it," said Koncz, reached in the Philippines, where he is with the fighter.
"When we did Miguel Cotto, we negotiated cotto in one day, so yes, it's going to be done quickly," said Koncz, referring to Pacquiao's 12th-round TKO of the then-WBO titlist on Nov. 14 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
"It's just a matter of Manny answering one or two questions," said Koncz. "For all intense and purposes, it's a done deal."
In addition to Clottey, Koncz said that Pacquiao reviewed video of WBA and WBO lightweight (135 pounds) titlist Juan Manuel Marquez (50-5-1, 37 KOs), New York's junior welterweight (140 pounds) star, Paulie Malignaggi (27-3, five KOs), and, WBA junior middleweight king Yuri Foreman (28-0, eight KOs) of New York before settling on Clottey.
"To be honest with you, yesterday, the last time that we spoke, I even suggested to Manny that we even fight Humberto Soto, using the angle of revenge since Soto had knocked out Manny's brother," said Koncz, referring to the WBC super featherweight (130 pounds) champ, soto's June, 2007, seventh-round stoppage of Bobby Pacquiao.
"But Manny was fine with Clottey. He was at ringside and saw Clottey fight in person against Coto when we were in New York," said Koncz, of Clottey's 12-round, split-decision loss to Cotto in June.
"Quite frankly, Manny and I thought that Cotto had won that fight, and not Cotto," said Koncz. "But we were looking for something in which the styles would make an entertaining fight, and I think that their two styles will make for an entertaining fight."
The three losses for Clottey (35-3, 20 KOs) were all to former world champions.
Clottey lead on all three cards in November of 1999, when he was mysteriously disqualified for a low blow -- during a time when the fighters were at a distance -- on the way to an 11th-round, disqualification Carlos Baldomir.
Clottey was ahead after four rounds of his December, 2006 loss over 12 rounds to Antonio Margarito before injuring both hands.
An interesting thing to watch for is whether any of those "couple of issues" Pacquiao and Koncz are "working out on the contract" call for Clottey (35-3, 20 KOs) -- known to be a big welterweight who has been troubled, at times, with making weight -- to come in at a catchweight rather than the regular, standard, 147-pound required limit for the weight class.
Mayweather and Pacquiao had agreed to face each other at 147 pounds even, while Oscar De La Hoya and Cotto each fought Pacquiao after having weighed in at 145 pounds. De La Hoya said that dropping the pounds drained him. Cotto's weight was contracted to be 145.
Pacquiao, who stopped De La Hoya in eight rounds, weighed, 142, and, 144, respectively, against De La Hoya and Cotto.
Clottey has weighed more than 147 pounds for bouts 11 times during his career, twice, at 154.
Source: boxing.fanhouse.com
Floyd should drop his absurd demand and save this fight or else there could be no Pacquiao-Mayweather fight anymore.
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