At this point in time, Chris Cozzone is most likely a very busy man. The Las Vegas based photo journalist hit Dallas yesterday for this weekend’s Manny Pacquiao vs. Joshua Clottey card and for the next three days his life will consist of capturing and distributing the finest images possible chronicling the event itself.
Cozzone was born and raised in Chicago before bouncing around such places as New York and Albuquerque before eventually relocating to Las Vegas, where he has been covering the sport religiously for the past ten years. Cozzone’s work is well respected as he has been serving as one of FightNews’ lead photo journalists since 2000.
Cozzone claims to have photographed every Manny Pacquiao event in the United States yet seems to realize this specific experience in Dallas will be something completely new to him because of the role that the bout’s venue, Dallas Cowboys Stadium, will have on the fight. When recalling his first sight of Pacquiao in action Cozzone seems to almost laugh at how obscure of a character the Filipino was to American fans back in the day.
“I remember the first fight I shot of his was his US debut,” Cozzone noted. “Nobody knew who he was. He ended up knocking out Lehlo Ledwaba, the 122 pound champion. You know there was something special about him the way he just flew into the ring. It’s just like he fights now. He didn’t have as much finesses back then as he does now but you could tell that he was going somewhere.”
To say that Pacquiao has gone somewhere with his career is an extreme understatement, as he has captured titles in seven different divisions while facing a myriad of world class competition and rising to the top of the pound for pound ladder. While Manny’s evolution has been impressive, Cozzone notes that it is something that didn’t happen overnight.
“It’s been great to watch him progress,” Cozzone claimed. “I’ve shot all three fights of his against Morales and that was kind of the turning point. He lost one of them but he came back to win the next two. The first with Morales was a decent fight but there was no contest in the next two fights. You can see that he’s been really working on his craft. Right now he just looks untouchable.”
As Pacquiao’s status has soared, so too has the electricity and excitement that goes hand in hand with all of his performances. Speaking candidly, Cozzone seems to feel that it is something that comes along in boxing circles only on the rarest of occasions.
“There’s nothing like it,” Cozzone said. “Ricky Hatton used to have some of that kind of energy but I don’t know if he will anymore. Just the kind of fans and the number of fans who come to see him. There is nothing like Pacquiao. He’s been able to transcend boxing but not just to Filipino fans. He’s all over now and everybody knows who Manny Pacquiao is. Even my friends outside of boxing know who he is. It’s an amazing thing.”
Cozzone was able to witness Pacquiao training for the Clottey contest earlier this month at the Wild Card Gym and points out that he is looking extremely sharp. Pacquiao will need to be at his best when he faces up with Clottey, another fighter who Cozzone has been able to witness on a first hand basis.
“I think that Joshua Clottey is one of the best Welterweights in the world,” Cozzone stated. “If this whole thing with Mayweather hadn’t happened and the fight hadn’t fallen through, and they had announced Joshua Clottey as Manny Pacquiao’s next opponent we would all be happy. It’s a great fight. Clottey is tougher than Cotto. Maybe he’s not better than Cotto, they had a close fight. Just because of the Mayweather fallout people kind of are overlooking him. I’m expecting a great fight. I have to go with Pacquiao.”
While Pacquiao and Clottey will be the center of attention on Saturday night, there will still be several storylines surrounding the fight and Cozzone will tirelessly be going about his work in order to keep pace with the hectic nature of the event. Despite having gone through the process of covering a huge event on numerous occasions, Cozzone must gear up for what lies ahead this weekend in Dallas.
“When there is a big fight like this week you pretty much live in it. It’s more than a 40 hour work week too. I hit Dallas on Wednesday and it’s going to be non-stop until Sunday night when everything is done and my images are uploading. A lot of times people don’t understand that when the fights are over our jobs are really just beginning. It takes a lot of time.”
During his time covering the sport Chris Cozzone has captured the likes of Pacquiao, Clottey, Miguel Cotto, Marco Antonio Barrea, Israel Vasquez, and several others. Click on the image collage to access more pictures from Cozzone…
