Joshua Clottey may not have the credentials of the fighter he replaced in Manny Pacquiaoâs March 13 gig but that doesnât mean the Filipino pound-for-pound king could simply shrug off the Ghanaianâs challenge. In fact, Pacquiao himself said heâs not taking Clottey, who took over as the Pacmanâs opponent after talks for a megabout with Floyd Mayweather Jr., broke down, lightly. "Magaling na boksingero ito (Clottey is also a great fighter)," Pacquiao said of his challenger, a former IBF 147-lb titlist himself, in an interview with GMA-7. "(Heâs a) very defensive fighter. Malakas din at mas matangkad pa kay (Miguel) Cotto. Kaya hindi tayo pwedeng magkumpyansa, (He's also strong and is much taller compared to Cotto)" the 31-year-old ring icon added.
Pacquiao has opened training camp last Friday, immersing himself into the technical aspect of their preparations by studying Clotteyâs previous fights and giving inputs to trainer Freddie Roach. He actually saw Clottey in action first-hand when he challenged then champion Cotto in June 2009. "Mannyâs a very intelligent fighter (now)," Roach said, recognizing Pacquiaoâs more active involvement in dissecting his opponentâs fighting style and devising plans against it. "Now he understands how to study fights. Before, he didnât care. He just did what he did. But now, he sees it. And when you see it, you can execute it." Clottey, who yielded a split decision to Cotto, is known for his durability and so Roach said Team Pacquiao is preparing for a 12-round war. "You canât count on knocking this guy out because heâs never been knocked out in his life. Heâs got a good chin and heâs a very durable guy, a big strong guy," the trainer conceded. However, if they can find a way to send Clottey down for the count, Roach said they would go for it.
Magaling na boksingero ito, very defensive fighter. Malakas din at mas matangkad pa kay (Miguel) Cotto. Kaya hindi tayo pwedeng magkumpyansa. â Manny Pacquiao
"But Iâm not saying we canât knock him out. I think we will somewhere along the way. But weâre gonna be ready for 12 hard rounds. Pacquiao, as usual, was non-committal on the KO-Clottey thing. "
Mahirap magsabi ng tapos pero gagawin natin ang makakaya (It's hard to predict the result but we'll do our best)," he said. The 32-year-old Clottey, for his part, canât wait to have a shot at the fancied champion. "Joshua is in great fighting shape right now. He is anxious to get into the ring against Pacquiao," said Clotteyâs manager Vinny Scolpino in a press release from Top Rank. The Bronx-based Clottey, according to his manager, will hold his main training camp for the Pacquiao fight in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
â ORL/JVP, GMANews.TV