Seven-division titlist, Manny Pacquaio, could defend his WBO welterweight (147 pounds) belt against perennial contender, Joshua Clottey, on March 13 likely at The Dallas Cowboys’ Stadium, Top Rank CEO, Bob Arum, told FanHouse moments ago.
“That’s what we’re working on right now, and that’s what it looks like it’s going to be,” said Arum, Pacquiao’s promoter. “We’re looking to finalize things with Joshua Clottey, and we’re hoping to have it done in a couple of hours.”
A native of Accra, Ghana, Clottey (35-3, 20 KOs) is a big-bodied, sinewy, accurate-punching welterweight with a resolute chin who has been often avoided because of his durability.
Clottey was last in the ring in June, where he lost a disputed, 12-round split-decision to Miguel Cotto. Pacquiao stopped Cotto in the 12th round on Nov. 14.
Pacquiao-Clottey would replace the originally-scheduled matchup between the 31-year-old Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 knockouts) of the Philippines, and 32-year-old, five-time champion, Floyd Mayweather (40-0,25 KOs), of Las Vegas, that was slated for March 13 at The MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
But Arum said that the negotiations for the highly-anticipated Mayweather-Pacquiao bout, which reportedly could have earned upwards of $40 million for both fighters, have been mired in a holdup over the implementation of blood and urinalysis drug-testing for both combatants.
Mayweather’s camp has indicated that it wanted each fighter to be open to random blood testing up to 14 days before the fight as well as afterward, while Pacquiao’s did not want to have blood drawn any closer than 24 days of the bout.
The Mayweather-Pacquiao talks failed on Wednesday after two days of mediation.
Parties for Arum’s Top Rank, including his stepson, Todd duBoef, and CEO Richard Schaefer, and, president, Oscar De La Hoya, of Golden Boy Promotions, representing Mayweather, met for nine hours on Tuesday with their lawyers present in the Santa Monica office of federal judge and mediator, Daniel Weinstein.
On Wednesday, the discussions took place with the Top Rank participants in their offices, and the Golden Boy reps in theirs, and still were not resolved.
Prior to Clottey, newly-crowned WBA junior middleweight (154 pounds) champion Yuri Foreman (28-0, eight KOs) of New York was considered as a replacement for Mayweather.
But the 5-foot-6 Pacquiao, who would be after his eighth crown in as many weight classes against Foreman, preferred not to face Foreman citing a height disadvantage against the 5-11 New Yorker. Pacquiao made his decision after having watched videos of Foreman.
