Pacquaio v Clottey: Preview
On March 13th, 2010, Manny Pacquaio, the pride of the Philippines takes on the much bigger Joshua Clottey in what has the makings of a classic World Welterweight fight. Pacman will be defending his WBO World Welterweight crown, but perhaps more importantly will be looking to cement his reputation as the number one pound for pound fighter in the world.
This match-up is a result of the eagerly anticipated Pacquaio v Mayweather fight being scrapped due to the stringent blood testing demands that were made by the Mayweather camp. Joshua Clottey is without doubt one of the top welterweights in the world and he represents a significant challenge for Pacman.
Subsequently to the announcement of this fight Mayweather has now signed to fight Shane Mosley in another great match-up and boxing fans will be hoping that perhaps the winners of these fights could fight each other afterwards. These are two tough fights though and in a two horse race we know that the favourite does not always come out on top.
Manny Pacquaio has risen through the weight divisions in his spectacular career and after turning pro in 1995 at 106lbs he has won world titles from flyweight through to welterweight. Most of his career has been around the featherweight and superfeatherweight divisions and he now finds himself competing against naturally bigger men.
Joshua Clottey is a very big welterweight and he will be the biggest man that Pacman has ever faced.
Manny's success came largely from his amazing workrate and relentless pressure, as well as his natural speed and his fighting heart. In more recent years his boxing skills have also been honed further by trainer Freddie Roach at the Wild Card gym in LA and he has utilised his more polished skills along with his speed to bamboozle opponents. In his corner in Freddie Roach he also has a great strategist and he will be very aware of the strengths and weaknesses that Clottey brings.
Clottey himself recently lost to Pacquaio victim Miguel Cotto on a split decision that he disagrees with. He also has a points defeat to the now disgraced Antonio Margarito (he of the glove tampering fame) but he has beaten some world class fighters including Zab Judah and the late Diego Corrales. Clottey is always in great shape, has good stamina and he is very durable. Pacman undoubtedly has the edge in speed and skills but Clottey is good at imposing his will, has a tight defence and is not likely to give up if things get tough.
I feel though, that Manny Pacquiao is a very special fighter. There are few that can fight at different weights, winning world titles and score spectacular wins against bigger men.
Pacman is in his prime now, in great form and I think he will take a convincing points victory in an exciting fight. Don't rule out a stoppage though - Freddie Roach has predicted this and he is often right!