This week, the loud statement Freddie Roach made that was louder than Pacquiao’s win, how we will remember Jose Luis Castillo, Chamber’s trying to pull a ‘Buster Douglass’ and the return of ‘Through My Eyes’…
Many will look back at Manny Pacquiao and Joshua Clottey as a formality for the ‘Pac Man’ to take care of business.
It was the first ever fight in the new Dallas Cowboys facility, drew 50,994 and was the biggest crowd in 17 years to be held in the United States for a boxing match.
Yet the fight played out just as it had on paper, with Pacquaio taking a sweeping decision and winning all but a few rounds on all three scorecards on what became a defensive output (Clottey) against a Pacquiao show, and we all know how that ends up.
Pacquiao’s decision victory may have been the most surprising, yet it was the fireworks in the post fight-in ring interview that stole the show.
The biggest proclamation that came out of this fight came out of the mouth of trainer Freddy Roach.
HBO’s Max Kellerman asked Manny Pacquiao about a possible match with Mayweather, and Pacquiao gave his sentiments.
Then the announcer turned to Freddie Roach, who began by directly addressing Mayweather himself, saying through the television to the undoubtedly watching Mayweather, that he was not the commission and he cant make the rules, then following it up with another classic direct statement.
“Get in the ring with us.”
All the 50,000 plus heard it and cheered loudly. All the pay per view watchers witnessed it, and writers accross the country tapped it out on laptop screens: a straight up challenge to Floyd Mayweather.
The trainer’s interview couldn’t have been more direct, and serves as the biggest and most important thing that could have been said immediately following the fight, when everyone’s minds clicked to May 1, and a possible Mayweather/Pacquiao bout.
Roach even gave his perspective on why Mayweather concocted a ‘Blood-Gate’ controversy, one that led him and the head bosses of his promotional partner company, Golden Boy Promotions, to face a defamation lawsuit filed by Pacquiao citing a defaming of character. The case is currently ongoing in a Nevada courthouse.
“He needed more time,” said Roach.”
“One fight back and you’re returning against (Pacquiao)? He found out Manny doesn’t like blood drawn and (made it an issue).”
Pacquaio/Clottey a dud?
As for the fight itself, to the novice boxing fan, it may have seemed like a stinker.
A fight with no knockdowns or a knockout, especially with the prelude tot the fight ending with veteran Joe Luis Castillo retiring from the sport, could seem blas?. It was interesting that the women at my house for the fight, who only care about the main event anyways, also threw their two cents in.
“The pre-fights always suck.” Wow, even women can tell.
Yet from an experienced perspective, it was a gem for Pacquiao. He had boldly faced a true welterweight who had never been stopped and proved to be the aggressor of the night, out throwing and forcing the defensive minded Clottey to cover up for most of the match.
If only one negative came from Pacquiao last weekend, I believe it to be his defensive maneuvering when he was actually being hit.
Clottey caught Pacquiao clean many times during the fight with straight rights and uppercuts, and when Clottey dared to throw more than one punch at a time, Pacquiao elected to absorb the punches with his gloves in the ‘gloves at the temple’ fashion, much like Clottey’s defense.
Clottey, as the bigger man taking a smaller man’s punches can use this tactic and use it effectively, albeit not to win the fight.
Pacquiao can not. By absorbing a strong welterweight’s punch with his gloves, he risked not only being worn down, but also his guard being opened up by attempting such.
One must think that that is something that Mayweather and Mosley looked at last Saturday, because one of them needs to fight him in winter 2010.
Castillo knew it was time
In what ended up being a shutout of a fight after five rounds, veteran Jose Luis Castillo was beaten to the punch early and often by a more nimble opponent in Alfonso Gomez on the undercard of “The Event”.
Castillo, (60-10-1, 52 KO) did not answer the bell for round six and subsequently retired later in the night, yet is a future Hall of Fame candidate who lived out much success in the lightweight and junior welterweight divisions during his twenty year professional career.
Of all of his accomplishments in winning titles in the sport, giving an early Mayweather fits and failing to make weight during his career, Castillo will perhaps most be remembered for being on the losing end of one of the greatest matches in boxing history when he was stopped by the late Diego Corrales in a see saw battle at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.
It was a smart move by a faded Castillo, and even HBO’s Max Kellerman stated that he saw no harm in a veteran fighter earning one last pay day under the lights while not suffering devastating injury and choosing to hang em’ up at the right time.
Castillo will be missed and remembered as a warrior in the ring.
Chambers attempts a ‘Buster Douglass’
This weekend contender “Fast” Eddie Chambers will challenge III and III champion Wladimir Klitschko in Germany in a non-televised bout.
Chambers is a 9-1 underdog against the champion, and is currently the only American hope for a major heavyweight title.
The Philadelphian native is an orthodox style fighter with fast hands, and is known to be one of the speediest Heavyweights in the game.
If Chambers could pull off the upset, it would be a great achievement and bring some much needed light to the division on the American scene.
THROUGH MY EYES
It was very nice to see that Golden Boy Promotions picked up Telefutura’s “Solo Boxeo” series. The program had a one year contract with Casino Morongo, and featured bouts between Michael Katsidis v. Joel Casamayor, and fights featuring Kassim Ouma and Sergio Mora. Look for more good things to come out of this relationship… Andre Ward is hurt? Well, I know some might be thinking he’s pulling a Tavarious Cloud, but I think the young lion is legitimately out… Man, even though the Pacquiao/Clottey fight wasn’t super exciting, this year in boxing sure is. And we are only three months in! If you are a true boxing fan, this last three months has been really enjoyable… Joel Casamayor, Joel Casamayor, Joel Casamayor… Shane Mosley isn’t on par with the trash talking as opposed to Mayweather, but I understand, everyone needs to ‘hype hype hype’ to max out revenue. It should be a classic match come May 1…
