Inside of Richard Steele Boxing Club in Las Vegas, Celestino Caballero continues to train tirelessly for his upcoming April 10th date against undefeated Daud Yordan. Caballero is moving up in weight for the HBO televised showcase and is looking to make an impression in a new division. Rumors of a July scuffle with Yuriorkis Gamboa are abound and the Panamanian’s work ethic seems to be a reflection of how crucial these upcoming months are for him.
Earlier this week Caballero took some time before another grueling workout to give his thoughts on last weekend’s showdown between Manny Pacquiao and Joshua Clottey inside of Dallas Cowboys Stadium. While the conversation started quite civil, I was taken back by the Panamanian’s thoughts as our interview rolled on.
“That was a fake fight,” Caballero said as he put his hands to his head and began mimicking the African fighter. “Clottey did not throw punches. I couldn’t believe what I was watching. If I was to fight somebody like Pacquiao I would be punching non stop.”
While Caballero’s English is somewhat spotty his true feelings towards the WBO Welterweight scrap were easy to read. Despite being turned away by the matchup, Caballero still had some lofty words for Pacquiao himself.
“He’s a warrior,” Caballero stated of the 7-division champion. “He has fought everybody lately. He really knows how to attack.”
But just as he was giving Pacquiao praise, so too did Caballero have time to critique his fellow champion.
“It’s his style,” Caballero said with a critical tone in his voice. “He has no defense. He gets hit too much. Cotto was already stale when he fought him. Something about his style I don’t care for.”
When asked if he felt that Pacquiao was still the world’s best fighter despite the deficiencies he believes he has, Caballero shook his head as if to say ‘No’. Elaborating further the outspoken and engaging titlist believes that two other familiar names actually rank higher than the Filipino.
“I rank Mayweather number one. He has the best defense and intelligence in the ring. Then I would say Bernard Hopkins as number two. He has heart and has proven himself. He is willing to fight everybody. Pacquiao would be number three.”
Steele’s Boxing weighs in on Pacquiao-Clottey and Klitschko-Chambers
Other professionals and amateurs inside of the gym overheard Caballero speaking and all it took was a mere mention of this past weekend’s fight to get everybody jumping about Pacquiao-Clottey. Chase Corbin, an undefeated Welterweight from Philadelphia now training in Las Vegas, feels that the bout ultimately disappointed.
“Boring fight,” Corbin claimed. “Clottey looked like he was scared. That was just an easy fight for Pacquiao. Clottey was so defensive.”
Amateur Lanell Bellows chimed in with his thoughts and was almost at a loss for words when discussing the developments in the ring.
“There’s nothing to talk about,” Bellows said. “It was self evident. Some people were infuriated by the fight because Clottey was so scared. People were mad because when Clottey actually threw, he landed, and you could tell by looking at Pacquiao’s face afterwards. It was a boring experience.”
Windell Payne just began the first steps towards his amateur campaign and the 22-year old was also dismayed by the action.
“It was pretty whack,” Payne said without remorse. “When Pacquiao did open up he did excellent. It was an easy one for him but I don’t think it would be so easy if he fights [Floyd] Mayweather. I think he’s going down if he fights Floyd.”
When the topic turned to this weekend’s IBF and WBO Heavyweight title bout between challenger Eddie Chambers and champion Wladimir Klitschko, Corbin spoke with pride of Chambers and seems to give him a realistic chance this weekend.
“Eddie is from Philadelphia and of course I think he has a chance. He’s fast. He has a great chance because of his speed. He knows how to move and he’s a great boxer.”
