During the fight HBO’s announcing team began to minimize Joshua Clottey’s effort as well as his ability. Jim Lampley, Max Kellerman, and Emanuel Steward called him an A- fighter and questioned his desire to win. Let’s get one thing straight; Joshua Clottey is a very good fighter and one of the best five or six welterweights in the world. Seriously, besides Pacquiao, Mayweather, Mosley, and maybe Andre Berto, the Ghanaian strong man would probably be favored to beat any other welterweight in the world.
Even though most Pacquiao fans were expecting a dominant performance, this performance exceeded expectations. Clottey is a huge welterweight with wins over Diego Corrales and Zab Judah and despite the noticeable difference in size, Pacquiao completely out boxed Clottey and diversified his combinations so Clottey couldn’t time him or counter him. After the way Pacquiao has beaten Hatton, Clottey, Cotto, and De La Hoya, you have to consider him a legitimate welterweight. Nobody else in the division could have pitched a shutout like that against Clottey. Antonio Margarito couldn’t do it and neither could Cotto. Heck I don’t even think Floyd Mayweather could have dominated Clottey the way Pacquiao did.
