March 14, 2010:
THE EVENT: PACMAN Vs. THE HITTER
But, boxing pundits see
THE EVENT uneventful...
The tremendously one-sided odds at
minus 350 for Clottey against
Pacquiao’s plus 500 show a reflection of how the boxing world looks at the fight.
'The Event' is perceived to be easy for Pacquiao - not the usual heart-throbbing excitement, not the usual high voltage level of competition. So then, it is not
the event most people wanted to see.
Probably, the name
‘Joshua Clottey’ lacks the luster imprimatured in the subconscious. Following the fizzling-out of the much fancied Pacquiao-Mayweather bubble, the
‘Hitter from Ghana' has seemed relegated to
second fiddle - probably an unworthy substitute.
I however disagree.
JOSHUA CLOTTEYUnderestimating the guy would be a big blunder.
Joshua Clottey (35-3 with 20 KO’s), is first rate. To recall, he was also a welterweight world title holder after subduing the quick-fisted
Jab Judah, a southpaw same as the Pacman. And Joshua is still in his prime. Although he had three losses in his resume - all of them were interestingly arguable.
Argentina’s
Carlos Baldomir, Mexico’s
Antonio Margarito and Puerto Rican
Miguel Cotto, yes, all big world champions, inflicted the only blurs into the otherwise excellent career of the man.
On the other hand, Pacquaio
(50-3-2, with 38 KO’s), had three losses too – from a fellow
Pinoy, a
Thai and of course from the Mexican
Erik Morales in their first encounter. These losses too were regarded as flukes. Except for Erik Morales, the first two losses of Manny are no big names.
And here we go again, what makes the fight appealing is the fact that Clottey is taller, bigger and a very dangerous welterweight. The
“Hitter from Ghana" is durable, highly physical, intense and hungrily motivated to win. Of course our Pacman had proven his mettle against other big challenges as
Dela Hoya, Hatton and
Cotto. But judging from Joshua’s fearsome physique, he is like the impenetrable
Tiger Tank terrorizing the
African deserts during the Hitler days. Comparing with the softer
Dela Hoya, Hatton and
Cotto whom Pacman conquered, Clottey appears to be stiffer, harder and more durable. He was downed by Miguel Cotto two times in their own battle but each time he rose upon the occasion to finish strong.
Clottey has a solid good defense and note that
he has a big gun in his sleeves – the head butt!
History tells us that
Clottey was winning in his IBF Championship fight with
Carlos Baldomir when he was disqualified in the 11th round for repetitive head butts. Prior to the disqualification, he was penalized two points for head-butting in the previous rounds.
He could have won the title handily had he played clean.
Against
Cotto, Joshua Clottey failed in what could have been the biggest upset at the time, in a
controversial split decision to the heavily favoured Puerto Rican icon. Many fans called it a robbery. But again, Clottey’s head-butting frenzy opened a cavernous wound around Cotto’s left eye in the third round. And Cotto bothered by blood oozing in the later rounds was never the same again. Cotto
luckily escaped defeat though.
Watching
youtube against
Antonio Margarito, Clottey was on his way to deliver his best performance in a lifetime; in fact, he was ahead on points until the fourth round when he broke his hand. Despite the injury, Clottey refused to deteriorate and maintained his work rate until the end bell. He lost by a slim margin. Had it not been for the injury, Clottey said
he could have won the fight.So then, it showed that Clottey’s hard head
(that not even a sledgehammer can crack) is more superior than his fists. His head, hardened as steel as in a
Tiger Tank’s cannon is actually his
open-secret weapon should the goings get rough. Pacquiao has to be prepared for it, otherwise the reminiscence of the bloody first
Morales fight and the horror of the dirty
Agapito Sanchez skirmish would flash back again.
Clottey, the street fighter and head-clashing monster has never been stopped. Of the fights I viewed on
youtube, I never saw Clottey bleed, nor his facade deformed. He is fundamentally sound, ring smart and operates best in the inside. His arsenal includes left & right combinations, fearsome left & right uppercuts and counter left hooks, and of course the headbutt. His timing is impressive and accurate. His punches are all dedicated with bad intentions. Known for his toughness and durability, Clottey enjoying height & reach advantage will definitely be heavier than Pacman when they face off on March 14. And there is no catch weight here, they at full 147 lbs.
MANNY PACQUIAOAlso known as
The Grandmaster, Joshua Clottey could be the toughest opponent the Pacman has ever had, as promoter
Bob Arum puts it.
But
Manny Pacquaio, the Tornado from the East, is a more complete and a much more versatile machine. But he has to work doubly hard to earn victory.
Mirroring from
Coach Roach, Freddie knows the fight would be rough & tough. In the Hatton fight, Coach Roach predicted a three round game. In the Cotto episode, a first-round knock-out was foreseen
(although it could have been a ploy). Now with Clottey, he is looking at a stoppage in the 9th round. It goes without saying that the Clottey fight is
not a 'walk in the park'. And Freddie had to do more on his homework.
“We know his pluses and his mistakes,” said Roach.
“He has a good defense but is very predictable. If his chin holds, we’ll destroy him downstairs and in nine rounds, the game is over.”
In most of the previous Pacman’s fights, the scary concerns were always the distractions during training. Now sombre as it appears to be, Pacman’s training camp is dead serious on Clottey. This time the boxing world never did hear of
Freddie Roach or
Alex Ariza sounding off an alarm. The trainers are all happy. Earlier than expected, Pacman as of last week seemed already in his peak form and ready to rumble. Conditioning Coach Alex Ariza vouched for it as
“Pacman had never been in top shape than this fight”. This sounds good...
The magic in Pacman’s exciting performances will again showcase in this episode. But it certainly wouldn’t be easy. Clottey in his psyche has to win.
Winning over the most popular and best pound-for-pound fighter in the world could not just be a challenge. It’s an obsession. He has to do all means within his will and power to win this fight. That makes
Joshua Clottey more dangerous. He has nothing to lose.
However, there will be big body shots to the rib cage followed by right hooks to the chin by Manny. Flashes of them are seen in the drills with the punch mitts. Of course, the sight of the usual darting lead lefts are again figures of imagination this early, and don’t forget the venom in the
Manila Ice that froze
Hatton and
Cotto.The question probably is
‘how long can Clottey survive Manny’s onslaughts?’ On the other hand,
‘how can Manny deal with the sticky crimson fluid blinding his sight after a series of head butts?’ Surely, it would be a fight to remember.
In Pacman’s fight with Miguel Angel Cotto, I wrote that
'I loved to see the ending by a spectacular uppercut'. It didn’t happen, but then,
most likely it will come next Sunday morning.
