Associated Press
ARLINGTON, Texas--Manny Pacquiao dominated a strangely passive Joshua Clottey from the opening bell Saturday to retain his WBO welterweight title.
With 50,994 fans--the biggest fight crowd in the U.S. in 17 years--cheering him on at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium, Mr. Pacquiao made sure the result was never in doubt. One ringside judge gave Mr. Pacquiao every round, while the two others gave him all but one. The Associated Press gave every round to the Filipino.
It wasn't as flashy as his knockout of Ricky Hatton or as savage as the beating he gave Oscar De La Hoya, but there was no doubt Mr. Pacquiao was in command the entire way against Mr. Clottey, who kept his gloves up high in front of his face, rarely risking a flurry. The Ghanaian's strategy got him to the final bell, but he was never competitive in the biggest fight of his career.
"He's a very tough opponent," Mr. Pacquiao said. "He was looking for a big shot."
Mr. Pacquiao was supposed to have been fighting Floyd Mayweather Jr. instead of Mr. Clottey, but the megafight between two claimants on the title of world's best pound-for-pound fighter fell apart over a dispute over blood testing.
"I want that fight, the world wants that fight, but it's up to him," Mr. Pacquiao said.
The tone of the fight was set early, with Mr. Pacquiao advancing against his taller opponent and throwing punches with both hands from all angles. It was the same style that gave him spectacular wins in his past three fights and, though Mr. Clottey was clearly the bigger fighter, he rarely sought to use his reach advantage.
Mr. Clottey's corner was urging him late in the fight to take some risks, but even in the final round when he needed a knockout to win, the Ghanaian only sparingly dropped his guard.
"Everything's working now," trainer Freddie Roach told Mr. Pacquiao after the third round. "It's easy."
Copyright 2010 Associated Press
Source: online.wsj.com
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