By John Whisler, San Antonio Express
ARLINGTON — Manny Pacquiao delivered punch after punch, hundreds in all. He fired BBs. He brought out the big guns.
He threw everything he had at Joshua Clottey. But it became clear nothing the Filipino superstar did was going to bring the challenger out of his shell.
That will be one of the enduring images of Pacquiao's lopsided win Saturday night at Cowboys Stadium: Clottey, standing totem-pole straight, gloves held tight to his face in a leather shield, reluctant to engage.
The champ, eager to impress, firing at will at a willing target but unwilling foe.
“I felt I was in control after the first round,” Pacquiao (51-3-2, 38 KOs) said. “But it was not an easy fight.”
His face was evidence of that. When Clottey did throw, he did some damage: Pacquiao showed up at the postfight news conference wearing dark sunglasses in an effort to hide bruised and swollen eyes.
His ego may have taken the biggest beating.
The would-be Congressman from the Philippines won by landslide on the scorecards — two judges gave Clottey the third round; other than that, Pacquiao pitched a shutout — but he couldn't close the show.
“He fought a very defensive fight,” Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach, said of Clottey. “When a guy does that, it's very hard to knock him out.”
In other words, Clottey (35-4, 21 KOs) was just trying to survive, hoping to avoid becoming another statistic for Pacquiao while at the same time keeping his own streak intact of never having been knocked out.
The problem, Clottey said, was Pacquiao's speed.
“It was difficult for me to handle that,” Clottey said. “I did what I could do.”
The punch stats were telling. Pacquiao threw a whopping 1,231 punches, but landed at just a 20 percent rate (246). Clottey threw just 399 punches, landing 108.
Pacquiao reportedly will earn $12 million plus a share of the pay-per-view; Clottey $1.25 million-plus.
Pacquiao was supposed to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr., but negotiations stalled because of a dispute over blood-testing.
“I want that fight, the world wants that fight, but it's up to him,” Pacquiao said. “I'm happy to have the support of the fans.”
The biggest winner Saturday may have been the venue. The first boxing event at Cowboys Stadium drew 50,994 fans, the largest boxing crowd in the United States in 17 years and third-largest ever.
No. 1 was Muhammad Ali-Leon Spinks II on Sept. 15, 1978 at the New Orleans Superdome (63,350).
No. 2 was Julio Cesar Chavez-Pernell Whitaker on Sept. 10, 1993 at the Alamodome (52,730).
Source: mysanantonio.com
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