As a fight fan, I am very excited to see the match-up between Manny Pacquiao and Joshua Clottey tonight. If there is one thing that people love to see, it’s a good fight, and believe me when, I say this is going to be one hell of a scrap! I can’t think of one fight that either of these two fighters has been in that wasn’t entertaining. One can assume that once they face off in the ring, there’s going to be toe-to-toe action. With Pacman gobbling up his opponents in brutal fashion as he stepped up in weight, I can’t help but wonder if it will happen again. Can Pacquiao once again take out a man who is bigger, stronger and fighting in his own comfort zone?
We already saw the outcome when a past-his-prime Oscar De La Hoya decided to forgo taking full advantage of coming in as the bigger guy on fight night. Draining himself to a weight he hadn’t been at in 10 plus years, De La Hoya came in well under the 147 mark. Although it was a spectacular performance put on by Pacquiao, in my mind, it left some doubts.
Then, when Pacquiao decided to continue campaigning at welterweight, he demanded that his opponent, Miguel Cotto, fight below the 147-pound limit while still putting his belt on the line. Again, even though it was another spectacular showing by Pacquiao, who dished out a brutal beating, there were still some questions for some. “Yes, but Cotto was a shell of his fomer self. He was not the same Cotto as he was pre-Margarito,” the naysayers would debate. It’s a valid point that they bring up, so you have to wonder, what will happen when a big welterweight like Clottey, who is a threat to anybody in the division, weighs in at his comfort zone and then enters the ropes at 160 pounds or more?
Personally, I believe Pacquiao should win the fight, but what if the catch all along has been the weight? Unlike Hatton, De La Hoya and Cotto, Joshua Clottey hasn’t been weight drained or brutally knocked out in the past. In fact, he has shown in fights that he doesn’t get hurt when hit, shrugging it off and shaking his head as if to say, “No! That didn’t hurt,” when he gets tagged by an opponents best shot. So with just hours to go, the world awaits the fight and I await the answer to the one question in my head: Can Pacquiao do it again?
