The night of March 13th, 2010 was supposed to be a banner one for Joshua Clottey, at least if you had believed the former champion speak in the weeks prior. Blessed with an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity against the world?s premier fighter, Manny Pacquiao, Clottey had promised to use his strength, tight-knit defense and aggression towards a shocking upset victory but it wasn?t meant to be.
<--- Slideshow: Images of Joshua Clottey In front of 50,000 plus at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas, Texas, Pacquiao would do his part in throwing over 1200 punches while Clottey simply laid back and did a whole of posturing as opposed to fighting. It was one of the more frustrating performances to watch in recent times as Clottey?s alarming inactivity defined his night more so than any of the gifts he had shown in fights prior. Clottey didn?t just lose a clear-cut unanimous decision, he lost some fans in the process.
Following the defeat Clottey had been strikingly silent, resurfacing briefly to blame his performance on diarrhea that struck him after a stew concoction went awry, while disappearing for several months soon after. Fastly approaching age 34 and with a horrendous showcase still fresh in everyone?s mind, Clottey?s future was full of question marks and you had to wonder what his next move would be.
According to MyJoyOnline.com, a Ghana-based news source, Clottey is planning on making the move from welterweight to middleweight by the end of the year, a slightly surprising twist but one that is worth a look. Always a physical powerhouse at 147 pounds, it isn?t alarming to hear of Clottey?s desires to venture north but you really have to wonder how much success he would have in his new endeavor.
At his best Clottey is an imposing, gritty customer with a seemingly impenetrable defense that allows him to force his physical advantages on his foes while in close. Perhaps his highlight performance was his August 2008 technical decision win over Zab Judah in which he showed much vigor in outworking the two-division champion form Brooklyn. On that night Clottey?s body work was pristine and he hacked away at Zab until a nasty gash over his right eye forced the fight to go to the cards with Clottey walking away with the vacant IBF strap.
In December of 2006 Clottey came roaring out of the gates against Antonio Margarito but faded late as the Tijuana brawler stepped on the gas pedal before escaping with a unanimous decision. It was later revealed that Clottey had injured in his left hand in the 4th round, a sound explanation as to why he went from controlling the action to instead settling on lasting the distance, and his stock was still fairly high.
In June of last year Clottey engaged in a see-saw affair with talented Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto at Madison Square Garden. Despite being dropped in the first round off of a Cotto jab, Clottey would regroup to make the fight a nip and tuck battle and seemed to have victory within reach before fading late and letting Cotto seize the momentum on his way to a split decision win. The bloody duel was filled with shifts in momentum and fouls along the way as Clottey was both body slammed and the victim of a rabbit punch late in the fight, an act to which he seemed to overact in pain as he drew a bit of criticism from those claiming his ticker wasn?t fully in tact.
Also on Clottey?s ledger are impressive shut outs over previously unbeaten Shamone Alvarez and the late Diego ?Chico? Corrales. Win or lose, and with the Pacquiao performance aside, he is a capable veteran who shouldn?t be completely discounted no matter which division he is in. But at 160 pounds it is hard imagine him having a great deal of success when looking at the finer pugilists near that domain.
WBO champion Dmitry Pirog was sensational in stopping prospect Daniel Jacobs on July 31st in Las Vegas and his unorthodox attack and shifty style would seemingly present a hard puzzle to figure out. Champions Felix Sturm, very capable in his own right, and Sebastian Sylvester would have to be favored simply because of their size alone.
Sergio Martinez, regarded as the world?s premier fighter at 160 pounds after his stirring April victory over Kelly Pavlik, seems to possess a bit too much class and awkwardness for the often-plodding Accra brute to cope with. Martinez is slated for a November 20th rematch with Paul Williams, another man whose activity and range could spell trouble for Clottey, as could the defeated Pavlik, who despite seeing his star fall in recent times is still a threat because of his power alone.
Leading up to the Pacquiao fight there was a heavy buzz on Clottey in Las Vegas whether inside of the gyms or in talking to the every day man on the street. His performance set him back a few steps and perhaps that is what is best about his shock move up 13 pounds; Clottey is now in a spot where many will be expecting his downfall and he has the perfect opportunity to prove people wrong. He?s shown some solid stuff in the past and maybe, just maybe, if the best Joshua Clottey comes to play then we will have something more positive to say about him than we did last this past March.
For a picture by picture look at Joshua Clottey, including all the highs and lows, please continue on to the slideshow in the top left or click HERE
Chris Robinson is based out of Las Ve
