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Philippines, 28 Nov 2024 |
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PACQUIAO PUTS ON MASTERFUL PERFORMANCE AGAINST ‘GRANDMASTER’ CLOTTEY By Ronnie Nathanielsz PhilBoxing.com Sun, 14 Mar 2010  Manny Pacquiao cemented his stature as pound-for-pound king and “Fighter of the Decade” with a masterful performance against Ghana’s Joshua “Grandmaster” Clottey before a crowd of almost 51,000 fight fans who savored the clinical demolition of the resilient former world champion as much as they imbibed the fantastic atmosphere at Jerry Jones’ $1.2 billion Dallas Cowboys Stadium. In the Philippines, some 12,000 fight fans watching the action on a giant four-sided screen at the famed Araneta Coloseum, the Mecca of Philippine sports and entertainment, roared with delight as their national hero ripped punches into the ebony body of Clottey and often switched to the head in flurries that had onlookers gasping for breath. The sheer hand-speed of Pacquiao, the angles from which he assaulted Clottey and his incredible lateral movement and in-and-out forays bewildered the former world champion who held up well to the power of the Filipino southpaw but at no stage in the fight looked like he had a chance of beating the overwhelming odds in favor of the holder of seven world titles in seven different weight divisions. With World Boxing Council president Don Jose Sulaiman and his son and secretary general Mauricio Sulaiman seated at ringside along with World Boxing Organization president Francisco “Paco” Valcarcel, the unrelenting desire of the leading world organizations to claim a piece of probably the greatest fighter of all-time was obvious. While Pacquiao was defending his WBO welterweight champion his trophy room is filled with the green-and-gold belts of the WBC beginning with his first world title, the WBC flyweight crown which he won with a spectacular 8th round knockout over Thai hero Chatchai Sasakul in December 1998 as well as the "Diamond Belt" encrusted with hundreds of precious stones and a one-of-a-kind version created by the WBC president. While many had predicted a stoppage by Pacquiao, boxing’s elite drew even greater satisfaction from Pacquiao’s all-round ring savvy in a virtuoso performance. Arnel Pineda, lead singer of the popular group “Journey” got a resounding ovation for his rendition of the Philippine National Anthem by fans who stood up and sang at the Araneta Coliseum while the fans gave a round of applause to the three stunning Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders who sang the American National Anthem in beautiful harmony and proved that they could not only dance but they could also sing. Pacquiao, in keeping with the style that has endeared him to millions around the world, smiled and waved his way into the ring as a counter to Clottey who showed some rhythmic skills dancing to the beat that accompanied his entrance. But once the fight got underway it was Pacquiao who danced in and out and peppered the stone-faced Clottey who looked more like he was in survival mode. Clottey occasionally caught Pacquiao with a right straight and a couple of uppercuts that didn’t seem to hurt Pacquiao although a cut developed under his right eye even as he attempted to copy the style he adopted in the Miguel Cotto fight, inviting the Ghanian to come in and take his best shot so he could crack him with a counter. Former Pacquiao cutman Lenny De Jesus who worked in five Pacquiao fights in the past was pressed into action as Clottey’s trainer when the US Embassy in Accra, didn’t renew the visas of Clottey’s regular trainer. De Jesus appeared to get increasingly desperate as the rounds went by telling Clottey “you are losing every damn round let’s get to it.” A low blow by Clottey drew a caution from referee Rafael Ramos but Pacquiao was soon back into the groove throwing punches in bunches and from every conceivable angle. Going into round ten De Jesus urged Clottey “take chances. You got the power, you got the strength and you’ve got the condition. You have to take some chances. Think about it.” He did and almost paid the price as he was briefly staggered for the first time in the fight which once again sent him back into a defensive mode as Pacquiao breezed through the championship rounds to the delight of the fans who began to chant “Manny! Manny! Manny!” in round eleven where the challenger connected with a couple of right straits and left uppercuts but which only seemed to spur Pacquiao to unleash a barrage of punches. An accidental head-butt was the only moment of concern in the final round before Clottey decided to let his hands go ever so briefly before Pacquiao, like a true champion, wound up the show in convincing fashion. The scorecards merely confirmed the obvious with judge Duane Ford scoring it a shutout 120-108 while the other two judges Levi Martinez and Nelson Vazquez gave Clottey one round although it failed to bring respectability to a 119-109 whipping. It was Pacquiao’s twelfth consecutive since 2005 and his record improved to 51-3-2 with 38 knockouts while Clottey fell to 35-4 with 21 knockouts.pic. In a post-fight interview boxingscene.com quoted Clottey as saying “He has speed. This is the first time where I believe I lost a fight. He was waiting for me to open to counter me. I realized that I couldn’t land my power punches on him, because he was so fast.” Next up for Pacquiao is the congressional race in Sarangani province in the May 10 elections which will come nine days after Floyd Mayweather Jr and Shane Mosley clash at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Its clear that the world wants to see Pacquiao face Mayweather provided the undefeated former pound-for-pound champion can overcome “Sugar Shane.” Pacquiao has often made it clear he wants the fight but under no circumstances will he or Top Rank promoter Bob Arum allow Mayweather to dictate the terms and conditions of such a super fight. Pacquiao said “I want the fight, because the people want to see the fight. But it’s up to (Floyd) if he wants to fight me. It’s not a problem for me to fight him; we’re ready to fight at any time. But I don’t think he’s ready to fight. Someday we’ll be ready to fight.” Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.  |
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