It's well known how pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao enjoys very much performing in front of his fans after he's won his fight, by singing a song or three to his supporters. With Saturday's big fight with Joshua Clottey fast approaching, Manny has let it be known this is what he intends to do once again; show off another of his talents by serenading his fans after he's beaten Clottey; which, of course, the 8-1 betting favourite is sure he will do - despite Clottey being the first genuine welterweight the Filipino legend will have faced in the ring.
However, as has been reported by The Philippine Star, one member of Team-Clottey has come out and said Pacquiao will be in no fit shape to sing or do anything other than go straight to hospital after the fight; so busted up will "The Grand Master" leave Pac-Man!
"Manny's going straight to the hospital after the fight," said Kwaku Gyamfi, a member of Team-Clottey. "Manny will be all cut up and bruised. It's gonna be messy. He's going to be hit by a brick.
"He won't be able to perform after the fight. For the first time he won't be able to perform."
Bold words indeed by Gyamfi, even if it has been reported how he made his boasts whilst possibly being under the influence of alcohol (Gyamfi was reportedly sat in a bar looking somewhat the worse for wear as he spoke to Filipino writers!). Yet the question is worth asking: is it at least possible Pacquiao is taking Clottey, who may have something like a fifteen-pound weight advantage over him by the time the two enter the ring, lightly?
Sure, looking forward to a win and then a sing is nothing new to Pacquiao or his team, but if Manny suffers the cuts and bruises to his mouth and nose Gyamfi is predicting, it sure will make singing a tall order for him.
Another, sober member of Team-Clottey, expressed confidence ahead of the big fight that is now only hours away. Chief trainer of the Ghanaian, Lenny de Jesus, spoke of how Manny's trainer Freddie Roach's uncharacteristically quiet manner ahead of this fight is due to Roach being nervous about the clash.
"It's going to be tough. It's going to be interesting," De Jesus said outside the same bar Gyamfi was talking in. "And this is a dangerous fight for Manny. You can tell it because Freddie [Roach] is not talking too much. If he knew this was going to be an easy fight, he would be talking a lot more. But he's being careful with what he's saying."
I'm not so sure I would agree with that myself. Roach has made enough bold predictions of his own on behalf of his fighter ahead of this one - not least predicting his warrior will win by a KO "around the 9th-round."
Naturally, there is always a bunch of talk - most of it baloney - ahead of any fight of this magnitude, and fans can make up their own minds about the comments given by both teams here.
So, are we on the way to witnessing another commanding win for Pacquiao, after which he'll hit another stage with a microphone in his hand; or will Clottey give Pac-man the shock of his fighting life? We'll soon see!
Source: eastsideboxing.com
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