By Lorne Scoggins, 8CountNews.com
Let the excuses begin. Manny Pacquiao's talents and accomplishments in the sport of boxing are generally recognized and appreciated by casual boxing fans and hardcore enthusiasts alike. However, there remains a very loud minority of people who continually seek to discredit everything Pacquiao has achieved. His total domination over Joshua Clottey was...well...totally dominating. What else can be said? Amazingly, it seems that there is nothing that Pacquiao can possibly do to silence his critics.
Here are some excuses that have been circulating:
“Clottey could have beaten Pacquiao if he'd actually fought.”
This is no different than saying that Clottey could have won if Pacquiao HADN'T fought. How can anyone discredit Pacquiao's performance based on the fact that his opponent refused to come out of his defensive shell? Clottey has always been a defensively-minded fighter. When a defensive fighter gets 1,231 punches shot at him, he's going to cover up. Pacquiao was so busy that Clottey's instincts kicked in and he spent the entire night protecting himself. To paraphrase 8CN executive, Brad Cooney, both men stepped into the ring with 12 rounds to do their thing. While it's obvious to everyone that Clottey should have taken chances and attempted a KO in the latter rounds, that's easier said than done. Simply stated, Clottey couldn't find time to do his thing because Pacquiao was so busy doing his.
“Clottey must have been bought off to throw the fight.”
I've heard this from a few different people. Would a pay-off have been worth it? If he had beaten Manny Pacquiao, he would have pulled off a very significant upset. This would have placed him at the top of the division and he would have been the new, WBO welterweight champion of the world. He would have uncrowned the pound for pound king, and everybody in the division would have been scrambling to fight him. This would have opened the door to some tremendous paydays for the “Grand Master”. He stood so much more to gain from winning than from losing. This is a ridiculous thought.
“Clottey lost because his trainer couldn't get a visa.”
Admittedly, this fact can't be totally ignored. However, Clottey's trainer couldn't have prepared him for Pacquiao's relentless attacks. His trainer couldn't possibly have transformed him into the fighter he needed to be to defeat Pacquiao.
“Clottey lost because he's a Pacquiao fan.”
Clottey did say that Manny Pacquiao is his favorite fighter. It's obvious that Pacquiao and Clottey struck up a friendship and that they genuinely like and respect each other, but that fact didn't prevent Clottey from landing some tremendous punches that snapped Pacquiao's head back and did some damage. Boxers are accustomed to getting into the ring and doing what they have to do regardless of whether they personally like their opponent or not. Like Pacquiao always says, “It's nothing personal. Just doing my job”. Clottey failed to do his job that night, not because he felt sympathy toward poor Manny, but because he was overwhelmed.
“Team Pacquiao cherry-picked another opponent who is easy to hit."
I'm not kidding. I actually heard this. Ridiculous, no? This one actually made me laugh. Let me be Captain Obvious here: Joshua Clottey is not easy to hit. Give me a break.
“He should have chosen a more worthy opponent.”
Like who? Let me reiterate my points from a previous article. The negotiations with Mayweather fell through. The No. 2 ranked welterweight, Shane Mosley and No. 3, Floyd Mayweather Jr. are fighting each other on May 1st. At the time the fight with Clottey was made, Mosley was expected to face Andre Berto. Miguel Cotto is No. 4 in the welterweight rankings. Pacquiao has been there and done that. Clottey was ranked No. 5.
“What did Pacquiao really prove in this fight?”
He proved that he can handle a fighter with an all but impenetrable defense. He showed that he can outclass a fighter who can avoid or block punches. He showed that a defensive fighter who only lands single punches and two-punch combos can't score enough points to win rounds against him.
Here's are some interesting questions in relation to those facts:
Will Pacquiao's dominance over Clottey add to Floyd Mayweather's apparent fear of Pacquiao? If Mayweather defeats Mosley and actually finds the nerve to step into the ring with Manny Pacquiao, how will he fare? What will he do when Pacquiao throws 1,200 punches at him? How effective would HE be with his single shots and two-punch combinations in that situation?
Pacquiao and Freddie Roach both called Mayweather our after “The Event”. Are you listening Floyd?
Contact Lorne: lscoggins@8countnews.com
Source: 8countnews.com
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