Clottey camp gives stern warning to Pacquiao

A key member of Joshua Clottey’s training camp has sounded the alarm for all Manny Pacquiao fans and supporters to hear.

"For the first time, Manny won’t be able to perform (for his post-fight party) as he’ll go straight to the hospital by then," said Kwaku Gyamfi, the plump, bearded and outspoken countryman of Clottey, who serves as his dietician and cook. It has been customary for Pacquiao, who stakes his World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight belt against Clottey on Saturday (Sunday in Manila), to hold a post-fight party after every fight as had been the case in Las Vegas. This time, the post-fight party has been set at the Texas Rangers Memorial Center Auditorium, just minutes away from the Dallas Cowboys Stadium, site of the 12-round match. But no need for that, Gyamfi pointed out. "His (Pacquiao) face will all be cut up and bruised. He’s going to be hit by a brick," said the dietician, who has known Clottey for almost seven years now. The 31-year-old Pacquiao has not been knocked down since kissing the canvas in round four of his non-title fight against Serikzhan Yeshmangbetov at the Luneta in 2003. The seven-time world champion bounced back in the fifth round to score a technical knockout. While Gyamfi revealed in the Pacquiao-Clottey primer entitled "Road To Dallas", that salmon and vegetables are what consist the Ghanaians’ nutritional regimen during training camp, he said its “African food that makes him (Clottey) strong."
For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV Not as candid as Gyamfi, but confident as well of a Clottey win is trainer Lenny de Jesus. The former Pacquiao cutman said that he has a lot of respect for both Pacquiao and his trainer Freddie Roach. But in as much as Roach has a surprise for them, he said "I have a surprise for them, too." "This is going to be an interesting fight," said De Jesus, who worked as Pacquiao’s cutman during the seven-time world champion’s match with Marco Antonio Barrera, Juan Manuel Marquez, Fahsan 3K Battery, Emmanuel Lucero and his first meeting with Erik Morales. De Jesus added that he’s aware Roach knows this is going to be a tough match for the Filipino southpaw judging by the way the four-time Trainer of the Year has been behaving of late. "You can tell it because he (Roach) is not talking too much," said De Jesus of his former superior. “If he knows this is going to be an easy fight, he would be talking a lot. But he’s very careful." In his entire eight-week camp, Clottey sparred for just 90 rounds against lefty sparmates compared to the 142 of Pacquiao. De Jesus has a valid explanation for that. "Because we keep on sending them (sparmates) out of the ring after every four rounds," slightly stressing how Clottey had all been dominating them. – GMANews.TV