Post Fight Interview With Manny Pacquiao

It's interesting to note that Pacquiao has a shiner on his right eye. Evidence that Joshua Clottey did at least throw some punches just not enough. Pacquiao also states how difficult this fight with Clottey was.

Manny Pacquiao Vs Joshua Clottey

ARLINGTON, TX - MARCH 13: (R-L) Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines throws a left to the body of Joshua Clottey of Ghana during the WBO welterweight title fight at Cowboys Stadium on March 13, 2010 in Arlington, Texas. Pacquiao defeated Clottey by unanimous decision. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)

By Randy De La O


Starting today and for the rest of his life Joshua Clottey will be asking himself “Why didn‘t I? Why didn’t I listen to my corner man. Why didn’t I get mad? Why didn’t I throw more punches? Why didn’t I even Friggin try? He will relive the moment and create scenarios where he actually fights back and then he will open his eyes and finds that nothing has changed. As is usually the case in boxing he will find that he has no one to blame but himself. Oh, he might try. He’ll fire this guy or that guy but still, but nothing will have changed. It will always come down to this: Clottey never took a risk, never took a chance on victory, and therein lies the rub-you have to actually throw punches to win a fight.

The most frustrating thing about Saturday night’s fight between Manny Pacquiao and Joshua Clottey is that he was actually capable of winning this fight and if not win, at least capable of making a great fight. It comes down to this: It’s not that he couldn’t he just wouldn’t. I hope he can live with that.

I think I am finally prepared to place Manny Pacquiao within the Pantheon of Boxing’s greats. He deserves to be mentioned with Boxing’s greatests: with the Duran’s, the Chavez’, the Armstrong’s, the Sugars, both Robinson and Leonard. He truly is a phenomenal fighter. He is a timeless warrior and could have fought in any era. If that wasn’t plain for me to see before it is plainly visible to me today.

Pacquiao had before him a legitimately strong welterweight and a worthy challenger. A former champion that was still in the mix. Pacquiao reduced him to a man willing just to survive. Clottey had a tight defense, a sort of peek-a-boo, middle of the ring rope-a-dope. It took Manny a few rounds to figure him out. When he did he turned on the Pacquiao machine and went to work on Clottey’s body, finding the right angle and landing the right hand just below the rib cage. As Teddy Atlas likes to say “he was collecting interest, he was making an investment in his future” . Pacquiao never stopped throwing punches and while Clottey did have a few moments where he could actually break through Pacquiao’s defense, he was just too timid or overwhelmed, by the amount of punches being thrown at him.

The fight was a great showcase for Pacquiao in everyway. It was a chance to see a Zen Master at work. That alone was (more or less) worth the money, but it was not a great fight. For that you need two willing participants. My hope? My hope is that on May 1 of this year Sugar Shane Mosley knocks out Floyd Mayweather Jr in spectacular fashion thereby setting up a fight with Manny Pacquiao. Manny and Shane are cut from the same cloth. What stirs these two warriors is not the money. It’s the love of the game and that’s where true greatness lies.

Highlights of the Pacquiao vs Clottey fight

Paquiao vs Clottey Undercard

The fight at the Cowboys Stadium, Dallas Texas will be shown on HBO Pay Per View and has a dynamite undercard.

Manny Pacquiao vs. Joshua Clottey (WBO welterweight championship)
Humberto Soto vs. David Diaz (WBC lightweight championship)
Alfonso Gomez vs. Jose Luis Castillo (welterweight)
John Duddy vs. Michael Medina (middleweight)
Salvador Sanchez vs. Jaime Villa (featherweight)
Roberto Marroquin vs. TBA (junior featherweight)
Michael Farenas vs. Joe Morales (featherweight)
Eden Sonsona vs. Mauricio Pastrana (junior featherweight)
Rodrigo Garcia vs. Noe Hernandez (junior middleweight)
Alex Trevino vs. Isaac Hidalgo (featherweight)

Manny Pacquiao Vs Joshua Clottey

Manny Pacquiao Vs Joshua Clottey Live stream
Originally uploaded by santinonoc

By Randy De La O

Manny Pacquiao and Joshua Clottey fight tonight for Pacquiao’s WBO Welterweight title, at the Cowboys Stadium in Dallas, Texas. Conventional wisdom says Pacquiao should win this fight and he probably will but as my father used to say “There’s no such thing as a sure thing”. Despite losing to Miguel Cotto in his last fight - losing a split decision that some felt should have gone his way - Clottey is a real fighter and not some “tomato can” brought in to fill the bill.

I’m not quite a true believer in Manny Pacquiao just yet.. Yeah, I know everybody thinks Pacquiao is the greatest thing since sliced bread but as far as I’m concerned he’s a good fighter with an impeccable sense of timing when it comes to selecting opponents. Don’t take my word for it, it’s in the record book. Clottey may just be the first real opponent that Pacquiao faces that doesn’t come in with some type of handicap, the exception being Juan Manuel Marquez. Though Clottey himself is no spring chicken, he seems to be in his physical prime and poses a real threat to Pacquiao. I’m not predicting an upset but I won’t be 100% surprised if there is one. Think Buster Douglas.

Still, having said that, Pacquiao will be a tough nut to crack. Clottey with 20 KO’s out of 39 fights is a good but not devastating puncher and though he is reasonably quick he comes nowhere near Pacquiao when it comes to speed. He will have to find some way to impose his will on Pacquiao and at this point I’m not sure he can do that.

Pacquiao has been given the benefit of the doubt when it comes to the drug testing fiasco between him and Floyd Mayweather but as far as I’m concerned he is equally culpable. All he had to do was say “Okay”. It’s easy to question Mayweather’s motives for asking for the Olympic style drug testing because , let’s face it, nobody really likes Mayweather. He’s the “bad guy” in almost every one of his fights, as opposed to Manny, who is almost always the crowd favorite. As far as I’m concerned Pacquiao’s motive for refusing to be tested are just as questionable.

Clottey has proven himself to be a tough, durable fighter and has gone the distance with a couple of good fighters. I figure he’ll make it to the final bell tonight in a losing effort but I’ll be pulling for an upset. Boxing needs another shot in the arm.