Tungod, Inabanga, Bohol – Or so I thought. Pinoy pride and the world’s best fighting machine Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 KOs) has made a habit of proving doubters wrong. I have never doubted Pacquiao’s talent and skills, much less his ability and desire to win. Even so, I am not about to doubt former IBF welterweight champion Joshua “Grand Master” Clottey’s (35-3-0, 20 KOs) firewall toughness, solid defense, and vast ring acumen either.
Any contest with the name Manny Pacquiao in it should be assurance enough of a thrilling and exhilarating boxing spectacle. He has literally made a living by putting on a good show not just for the hardcore fight buffs, but also to the casual fans as well. The odds, as expected, are stacked against the fire-breathing Pinoy’s opponent. This is no surprise, considering that the fighter out of Ghana, by way of Bronx, New York lost to the same guy who was destroyed by Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 KOs) of the Philippines, not to mention that the Filipino is universally considered as the best fighter pound for pound at present. But before you Pacman fanatics get too excited, please allow me to point out a couple of things that might make you think twice about Clottey being just a walk-in-the-park for the Pinoy great.
Make no mistake about it. Joshua Clottey is probably the best and most dangerous Pacquiao opponent to date, among the Pinoy pug’s long list of opponents. The potent combination of size, speed, stamina, skill, power, and chin is certainly a tall order for even a fighter like Pacquiao to overcome. Don’t be fooled by Clottey’s 3 losses. His first loss to Carlos Baldomir, who eventually became a welterweight champion, was due to disqualification with Clottey ahead in all three scorecards at the time of the halt. In his second setback, Clottey was making a good account of himself before sustaining an injured left hand in the fourth canto and was basically fighting one-handed from round 5 onwards against the hard-punching Antonio “Loaded Hands” Margarito. Clottey’s third loss, against Cotto, as we all know, was very much closer than the scorecards would suggest.
Clottey has top-notch defensive skills. Using his gloves and arms to protect himself the way Ronald “Winky” Wright does, the “Grand Master” has always finished fights with more than enough gas in his tank. Of course, Pacquiao is definitely in a league of his own, but Clottey could very well pose a lot of problems for the General Santos native. Clottey boasts a great left hook downstairs and up, often followed by a quick right straight. Team Pacquiao should also take note of Clottey’s tendency to come in with his head first. With their contrasting fighting stance, it is not farfetched that Pacquiao could sustain a cut that might hinder his vision just like he did in his first bout against Morales. We all know what happened to that fight. I don’t see Pacquiao knocking Clottey out in this confrontation… but then again, Pacquiao has made the habit of making surprises and exceeding expectations. He might once again do it this time around and I would really be glad to be proven wrong.
For more Pacquiao vs Clottey updates, visit http://pacquiao-vs-clottey.cebuspace.com/.
Source: Reylan Loberternos - philboxing.com
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