JOSHUA CLOTTEY: THE NEXT BEST THING?

By Rene Bonsubre, Jr. - Joshua Clottey was visibly shocked when the verdict of his fight with Miguel Cotto was announced. He thought he did enough to win and many will agree with him. But despite the split decision loss, he remains a marketable commodity.

Clottey is as rough and tough as they come. He comes to fight, which is quite an understatement. Now the 33 year old from Accra, Ghana is once again thrust into the limelight after the negotiations for the Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather,Jr. reached a bitter stalemate.

Clottey turned pro in 1995 and has faced elite fighters. Aside from the June 2009 loss to Cotto, he lost a twelve round unanimous decision to Antonio Margarito in December 2006 also for the WBO welterweight title. He was more than competitive especially in the first half of the fight before he injured his hands.

He beat Diego Corrales by ten round unanimous decision in 2007, scoring knockdowns in the 9th and 10th rounds. This was Corrales’ final fight before he died. In August 2008, Clottey beat Zab Judah by 9th round technical decision. He would relinquish his IBF belt for the opportunity to fight Cotto.

Clottey (35W-3L, 20 KO’s) came off the floor against Cotto and continued to press and land brutal combinations. His style would make his showdown with Pacquiao more than fan-friendly. His size and power makes him dangerous.

Pacquiao vs Clottey may not be the fight millions all over the world wanted. But it still has fight of the year potential written all over it.

There was always the possibility that Pacquiao vs Mayweather would wind up being more comical than the Roadrunner vs Coyote cartoons with Floyd breaking Usain Bolt’s sprint records.

The defending WBO welterweight super champion Pacquiao at 5’6” will once again be the smaller man when he faces the 5’8” Clottey this March 13 in Dallas, Texas. There is a possibility of an upset.

But that is the main difference between Pacquiao and Mayweather.

Pacquiao, through the years, has fought and beat opponents who the rest of the world thought would beat him.

Source: philboxing.com