Pacquiao vs Clottey: Fight breakdown
by Charles Jay
The boxing world will be at a standstill this weekend as the best fighter in the planet (in my opionion) Manny Pacquiao will take on Joshua Clottey who has never been knocked out, in a 12 round Welterweight clash at 10 PM ET at Cowboys Stadium.
:
Manny Pacquiao -700
Joshua Clottey +450
O/U 9.5
It’s easy to understand why Manny is favored against Clottey. He has just beaten Miguel Angel Cotto for the WBO welterweight title, the overrated Ricky Hatton for the an International Boxing Organization light welterweight title and the legend Oscar de la Hoya, all in the past two years and with impressive performances.
In both wins against De la Hoya and Hatton, Pacquiao changed his fighting style and beat his opponent down in every single round. He averaged 73.1 punches per round vs de la Hoya, far above the average of 58 by other welterweights.
He is fast, precise and lethal if he gets in control of the fight early, and that is what Clottey needs to avoid.
In my opinion Clottey will be one of the most demanding opponents Pacquiao will have in his recent career in term of strength and defensive skills.
Clottey is not the defensive master Mayweather is but he still has the reputation of being able to withstand an offensive onslaught. The proof of that is that is when he was able to take both Antonio Margarito and Miguel Angel Cotto to 12 rounds, despite losing both by decision.
Patience is definitely the key for Pacquiao to win this fight as I expect his early shots to bounce off the gloves and the hard head of Clottey without leaving a lot of damage.
Manny should play it safe in order to look for a win in the cards but let’s be honest that is not Pacquiao’s style and that could leave some open gaps for Clottey to connect some big power punches and hurt the Champ.
