MANILA, Philippines – Ordinary Filipino fight fans labeled Ghanaian Joshua Clottey as an unworthy challenger, giving Filipino champion Manny Pacquiao a boring fight in their title duel at the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas yesterday.
Not a few said Clottey only collected his paycheck then made sure he finished the bout not by fighting but just defending against the strong and quick Filipino ring icon.
“He’s a farce. He made the Texas event uneventful,” said Romy Ignacio, a driver from Baliaug, Bulacan.
“He’s got no pride. Even his countrymen should be disappointed with his performance,” said Sabadito Callos Jr., a factory worker from Valenzuela.
The Pinoy fight fans, who love slam-bang action, considered the Pacquiao-Clottey showdown the dullest among all fights Pacquiao had since the Filipino icon wrested the IBF world super-bantamweight title from Lehlo Ledwaba at MGM Grand Garden Arena in 2001.
“He appeared to be satisfied sharing 36 minutes of fame with Manny Pacquiao. He crouched down in fear all throughout the fight,” said Alexis Talon, a TIP engineering student.
“In fairness to him, he showed he’s got strong hands. His hands, which he used no end to cover his face and body, suffered much punishment on vicious blows by Manny,” said Eric Silva, a call center agent.
Clottey finished the fight standing, but he didn’t get the respect of the Filipinos for refusing to slug it out with Pacquiao.
“Eric Morales, Marco Antonio Barrera and Juan Manuel Marquez were all felled by Manny but they drew praises from the Filipinos for their courage. Same could be said of David Diaz, Ricky Hatton, Oscar dela Hoya and Miguel Cotto but not of Clottey,” said Manolo Tan, a businessman from Quezon City.
“He said he’ll go for a knockout. How, when all he did was to cover in fear,” said Teofilo dela Cruz, also a businessman from Caloocan.
Others, however, said it’s a testament to Pacquiao’s tremendous strength and great speed that he kept Clottey on a defensive stance.
“For sure, he wanted to attack, but he couldn’t do so while always facing a flurry of punches from Pacquaio,” said Robert Canosa, among those who emerged from Araneta Coliseum smiling from ear to ear.
“He just couldn’t stand toe-to-toe with Manny. He would be battered trading blows with our champ,” said Tano de Leon, who watched the fight over at the nearby Gateway Mall cinema.
According to reports, gate receipts from cinemas in Metro Manila were a little less this time maybe because there’s little expectation from the Ghanaian challenger.
Another reason could well be the free viewing provided by politicians almost all over the country.
At the Lourdes College of Valenzuela gym, watchers made noise when power failure hit the place by the third round of the bout.
“The Department of Energy reneged on its promise that there would be no brownout. Good thing, electricity was restored soon,” said Dennis Alemania, the Andres Mariano Elementary School PTA president.
