IOWA CITY (BASN) On Saturday, March 13th, Manny Pacquaio faces Joshua Clottey in a match that could be a dangerous bout for the "Pacman" who is risking a multi million dollar gate against the winner of the Mosley-Mayweather fight.
Clottey has a 1-2 title record in title bout but he has the skills to pull off an upset. He is a technically sound fighter with good jab and nice left hook. Clottey has spent his career as a Welterweight and his two big losses were to Antonio “Hands of Plaster” Margarito and Miguel Cotto.
In the case of Margartio, he injured his hand early in the fight and fought the tough Mexican with one hand after easily winning the first four rounds. The Cotto fight was one of those affairs that could have gone either way.
The difference was a flash knockdown early in the fight where Clottey got nailed with a left hook and quickly bounced back up after his butt hit the canvas. As ESPN's Ted Atlas noted recently, Clottey may be the strongest fighter Pacquaio faced and he may be able to weather the Pacman's withering attack.
The biggest weakness for Clottey is his lack of activity.
The sound technician is judicial with his punches and in a fight with a quicker handed fighter, he could end up losing rounds that maybe he should win. Atlas believes that some where in this fight, Clottey will hurt Pacquaio and this may be the deciding factor.
Will the Pacman take Clottey's best? If so, Pacquaio wins.
Pacquaio is riding high as he’s essentially been knocking off lightweights, junior welterweights and welterweights over the past couple of years. His resume includes former lightweight champion David Diaz (the former title courtesy of Pacquaio), Oscar De La Hoya, former junior Welterweight champion Ricky Hatton (the former title courtesy of Pacquaio) and most recently Miguel Cotto.
In the Cotto fight, Pacquaio took Cotto's best shots early and after the third round, the fight was essentially his as Pacquaio's quick hands simply overwhelmed Cotto.
Clottey is slightly taller than Cotto and he has an excellent jab of his own plus this is the fight that could put him on the map. After two close losses to elite welterweights already on his resume, Clottey needs this victory to become a big ticket item. If he wins, he'll become a star and maybe he gets a shot at the winner of the Mayweather-Mosley.
As for Pacquaio, this fight is the stepping stone to the big mega fight with Mayweather providing that Mayweather defeats Mosley, not an automatic conclusion.
Never mind past negotiations, if both Pacquaio and Mayweather win their respective bouts, then the fight will happen. Bob Arum and Oscar De La Hoya -- the two big promoters in this tangled web -- will not allow a second negotiation to fail.
But before the super fight, both Pacquaio and Mayweather must win their bouts and they are fighting opponents who have nothing to lose and everything to gain including their place in boxing history.
Pacquaio should uphold his end but it will be a tough hard fought decision.
tomdonelson@blackathlete.com
Source: blackathlete.net
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