ARLINGTON, TEX — The end, for challenger, Joshua Clottey, may happen along the ropes or in the middle of the ring.
But either way, it will happen — before a screaming crowd of about 4,500 at The Dallas Cowboys’ Stadium on Saturday night.
Trainer Freddie Roach has envisioned it to be so.
The 32-year-old Clottey will be covering up, or, more-or-less, cowering, as he tries to employ his vaunted hands-held-high-around-his-ears, peek-a-boo defense.
But even that will no longer protect the wilting challenger from the gattling-gun blows that will be coming at him from all sides as seven-division champion, Manny Pacquiao, forces local referee, Rafael Ramos, of San Antonio, to come to the Clottey’s rescue.
“That type of defense? That’s just not going to work. Not with a good fighter,” said Roach, a 50-year-old, four-time Trainer Of The Year. “A passive defense with no counter-punching is not going to win a fight.”
With that, the 31-year-old Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 knockouts) will make the first successful defense of his WBO welterweight (147 pounds) title — this, by stopping a man who never has been knocked out, and by toppling the largest opponent that he will have faced.
“Joshua Clottey is a very good defensive fighter, but we’re going to adjust right away. We studied, like what I said, we a lot of different techniques for this fight,” said Pacquiao, a three-time Fighter Of The Year and one-time Fighter Of The Decade.
“Whatever happens, we’re going to adjust right away. Freddie Roach knows the style that we have to do to win that fight,” said Pacquiao. “He’s prepared for it. In every situation, he knows what moves we have to make. And now, it’s just up to us doing it.”
In victory, Pacquiao’s unbeaten run will have increased to 12-0, with nine knockouts, including his fifth consecutive stoppage gainst Clottey (35-3, 20 KOs).
“I don’t think we can knock him out or knock him down, but I think that we can overwhelm him and make him quit possibly, maybe take too much punishment,” said Roach, under whom Pacquiao is 18-1-2, with 15 knockouts.
“Because I know that he’s got a good chin. I know that he’s been in there with some big punchers. He’s pretty solid. When I say knockout, I think that we can stop him.”
