Highly-favored Pacquiao not taking Clottey lightly—Roach

Manny Pacquiao is not taking chances even against an opponent he is highly-favored to beat when he stakes his World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight title this Saturday at the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas (Sunday in Manila). “He (Pacquiao) doesn’t take anyone lightly," Freddie Roach said on the eve of the Filipino’s title fight with Joshua Clottey of Ghana. “If he were going to fight you, he wouldn’t take you lightly, or me."

But Clottey, obviously the bigger between the two, boldly vowed to pull an upset in the same Texas city that is home to the Cowboys and Dirk Nowitzki and his Mavericks. “I will shock the world," said the 32-year-old challenger from Accra, Ghana as a crowd of 2,000 gathered at the plazas outside of the Cowboys Stadium on a windy Friday morning for the official weigh-in for the fight. “I’m very much ready. And I want the whole world to know who I am." Clottey (35-3, 21 KOs) weighed in at exactly 147 lbs, although he was allowed to prematurely tip the scales 20 minutes before the actual proceeding just to check if he’s on target within the welterweight limit. Come fight time, the Ghanaian is expected to be at 160 lbs. Size not a concern Asked about the physical disparity once they finally square off in the ring, Pacquiao just shrugged off the thought. “Tingnan na lang natin sa ring," said the champion, who came in at 145 and ¾ lbs. “Ganyan rin naman ang sinabi nila noon kay (Oscar) De La Hoya, (Ricky) Hatton at (Miguel) Cotto. Tayo naman laging handa at lumalaban. May the best man win na lang." Trainer Freddie Roach more than welcomes a bigger Clottey climbing the ring. “The more he weighs, the happier I will be," he said. Pacquiao, 31, is expected to be at around 149 lbs during the fight, a weight which Roach referred to as just perfect for the seven-division world champion. “We’re right where we wanna be," Roach said. $12 million purse A guaranteed purse of $12 million and more await Pacquiao by the end of the bout, although he could have earned even bigger had the original plan to pit him against unbeaten Floyd Mayweather Jr. pushed through right on this very same date. But disagreement on the matter involving drug testing shot down the potential showdown, which many projected to be the biggest and richest match ever in the history of prizefighting. And so the Filipino southpaw has to slug it out instead with Clottey, who may not be in the same level as Mayweather, but is a solid, durable defensive fighter with a great chin and hasn’t been knocked out in 38 fights. The match will be Clottey’s biggest in terms of prize purse ($1.5 million), and comes on the heels of his controversial split decision loss to Cotto in June last year in a fight many believed he won.
In preparing for the bout, Pacquiao, coming off a 12-round stoppage of Cotto four months ago, trained the same way he did before, reporting in training camp for seven straight weeks and sparring a total of 142 rounds. Unlike this time, the champion didn’t have problem with his weight and had the luxury of eating full meals everyday. On weighing day itself, Pacquiao tipped the scale at 144 when he woke up, and then was down to 142 following a rigid morning walk. For him to gain weight, the General Santos City native had a lunch of steak, asparagus and white rice. “He’s really happy when he eats. He didn’t starve himself. He’s having a good meal now," Roach said. “Pacquiao is ready now," the proud coach added. "Very much ready." —GMANews.TV