No KO, no problem for Pacquiao trainer Roach

Even when Manny Pacquiao was in total control of the fight, trainer Freddie Roach said the seven division world champion still went for a knockout opposite Joshua Clottey. Pacquiao scored a unanimous decision victory over Clottey in “The Event" on Saturday (Sunday in Manila) at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas failing to score a knockout win for the first time in two years. "I always go for the kill all the time," said Roach when asked if ever the reigning pound-for-pound king held back his punches in the late rounds. "We want to finish Clottey off in great fashion, but it just didn’t work out." It was lopsided right from the start after the Ghanaian challenger opted to keep his face covered clearly avoiding one of Pacquiao’s powerful combinations that could have delivered the KO and put a blot in Clottey’s unblemished record. Clottey has won 35 times in his last 38 fights, prior to facing Pacquiao. He dropped three of those bouts either via disqualification, split or unanimous decision and has yet to suffer a loss by way of KO.

For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV Pacquiao hasn’t gone the full 12 rounds since earning a split decision win over Juan Manuel Marquez in March of 2008 and Clottey is the first fighter to go the distance with the Pacman. Still, Roach has no problem with that, generously giving his prized ward a grade of A+ for his effort of retaining his World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight title with a lopsided decision over Clottey. "Manny fought a good fight," said Roach in assessing the latest performance of his prized boxer. Roach predicted a late round stoppage by the hard-punching Filipino southpaw in the days leading to the bout. Instead, Clottey managed to weather the all-out assault launched by the champion for the full 12 rounds. "He pitched a shutout against a middleweight. But that middleweight should’ve used his power," added Roach, obviously amused that the 32-year old Clottey never used his size advantage against the smaller Pacquiao and instead, opted to be on the defensive end for the entire bout. – GMANews.TV