GRAPEVINE, TEXAS—Don’t try to tell Joshua Clottey that America is not the Land of Opportunity.
The streets may not be paved with gold but, for this Ghanaian, the boxing ring turns very golden Saturday night at Cowboys Stadium.
Clottey was looking at a mere $35,000 purse for a lower case fight at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas when fortune smiled on the sturdy African fight.
The blowup of the Floyd Mayweather-Manny negotiations provided Clottey, a Pacman stablemate at Top Rank, the opportunity to fight the Pinoy Idol.
Manny earned $35 million last year alone but Clottey joins the thin ranks of boxing millionaires as his Pacquiao purse is a nifty $1.2 million.
Even after manager Vinny Scolpino, who Clottey twice tried to unload for no good reason, takes his one third, there will still be about $800,000 remaining for Bronx resident Clottey.
Pacman has the Midas touch even his opponents turn to gold. Joshua Clottey thought he would earn $35,000 for next bout, now he gets $1.2 million, no wonder he keeps smiling at Pinoy Idol Manny Pacquiao (Top Rank, Chris Farina Photo)
Switching gears, I met a nice, middleaged married couple in the hotel lobby. They came all the way from Ricky Hatton’s home city, Manchester, to watch Clottey fight Pacman.
“Did Floyd Mayweather steal your mother’s pocketbook?” the husband asked me in a humorous tone. “Why do you write such terrible Examiner.com columns about my favorite fighter?”
This gentleman is in a “mixed marriage” as his wife explained that she can’t stand the mercurial Mayweather and is, like so many of the saner citizens across the world, a Pacquiao fan.
“I love Floyd as he is the devil we know,” I told the British couple. “Think of how boring boxing would be if Floyd had an angelic image like Manny mostly does. Mayweather is the guy who puts the pepper, the salt and the other spices in our boxing gumbo. He can’t also wear a halo.”
Really, folks, I’ve no hate for Mayweather, either hating him like poison or just hating him regular. He’s a boxing artist with a Rembrandt record.
But he will be Duckweather and all that if he continues to dodge Megamanny.
The couple seemed satisfied with my flimsy explanation.
They laughed and went on their merry way.
Pacman spent part of his Saturday afternoon attending a special Mass held at the host hotel.
I think there are five or different Pinoy priests in the Pacquiao posse these days, including old friend and Right Reverend Father Marlon.
The priest used to be based outside New York City but is now assigned to a parish in Oxnard, California.
