THE question many are asking is: Does Joshua Clottey truly have the right to be in the same ring as the world’s best pound-for-pound boxer Manny Pacquiao?
Does he, really?
Clottey, a much lesser-known boxer, was chosen to take the place of Pretty Boy Floyd Mayweather Jr. Some already see him as an easy opponent for Pacquiao, one that he would simply dispose of. He is regarded as a fighter not in the level of Mayweather.
Those in the know, however, will say that boxing is a sport where anything can happen.
Joshua Clottey—boxing history
Joshua Clottey may not be popular in most parts of the world, but he certainly has the numbers to face the reigning World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight champion.
Originally from Ghana, Africa, but now fighting from the Bronx ,New York, Clottey boasts of a 35-3-1 win-loss-draw record.
He earned the right for his first big championship fight against Carlos Baldomir after stringing 20 straight wins. A lot of scribes say that Clottey was way ahead on points in that fight which unfortunately ended in a disqualification because of Clottey’s continued head butting.
Undaunted by this setback, Clottey forged on to get his first big chance for a world title, this time against Antonio Margarito. Margarito won a majority decision but the fight was much closer than the story told by the scores. Clottey apparently fought with a broken hand in that fight and the validity of Margarito’s win was questioned after the hand-wrap issue was exposed.
Clottey’s third loss came at the hands of Miguel Angel Cotto. This fight was very controversial as it ended with a very close split decision going in favor of the more bloodied and visibly hurt Cotto. Clottey continuously outboxed Cotto using his speed and varied punch combinations. Many thought that Clottey won that fight.
Clottey has never been beaten via a knockout. He has only been on the canvas once and that was from a jab courtesy of Cotto. However, he immediately got up after the flash knockdown and almost did enough to force the round to be scored even. He is strong and powerful and has taken the best punches from natural welterweights. It must be noted that he has campaigned in this weight class practically throughout his boxing career.
