Pacman to be a tough foe for loudmouth Floyd Jr

Joshua Clottey believes Floyd Mayweather Jr. will have his hands full if ever a long-awaited showdown with Manny Pacquiao materializes in the coming months or by next year. Clottey, who lasted the 12 full rounds with the seven world division champion Pacquiao a few days ago, said Mayweather will face the biggest challenge of his career against the charismatic southpaw from General Santos City. "It’s going to be a very, very tough fight for Mayweather," said Clottey about his thoughts on the mega-fight that was aborted at the last minute on a disputed drug protocol. The failed negotiations with the Mayweathers led Pacquiao and Top Rank’s Bob Arum to tap Clottey as a last-minute replacement for the scheduled March 13 match at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium. Mayweather will face "Sugar" Shane Mosley on May 1 for the World Boxing Association (WBA) welterweight title. The former pound-for-pound king has belittled Pacquiao’s dominant win over Clottey saying the 12-round title fight was boring and it exposed the Filipino ring icon as a one dimensional fighter. "I think Pacquiao got exposed in that fight for being one-dimensional. You can have all the offense ability in the world, but with no defense, you’re not going to last long against a good counter puncher such as myself," Mayweather said. He added that being an ethinic minority and from the Philippines are the only reasons why Pacquiao is popular. "If he (Pacquiao) was from Africa he would be just another boxer." Clottey added Mayweather will find the 31-year-old Pacquiao a tough opponent the same way he did when they met in the ring last Saturday (Sunday in Manila) for the World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight title. "Manny Pacquiao will give him (Mayweather) a lot of problems." Pacquiao handily beat Clottey to retain his 147-pound belt and cemented his status as the world’s best pound-for-pound fighter. Clottey, 32, though was the first Pacquiao foe to last the distance since Juan Manuel Marquez lost by split decision to the boxing superstar in 2008. Pacquiao did that to Clottey over the weekend, pummeling the pride of Accra, Ghana with thundering body shots and left hooks, while confusing him for most of the time with his lightning quickness on the way to scoring a one-sided decision. "I am very strong, but the guy (Pacquiao) is just too fast and very good. That’s why I respect him for being the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world," Clottey said. "It’s very hard to catch him. He’s too fast." For Mayweather to keep pace with Pacquiao, Clottey said he must be in perfect condition like he did for the biggest bout of his career. "I trained a lot and was in good condition, that’s why I took a lot of punches and never hurt me," said the Ghanaian, who earned his biggest paycheck of $1.25 million for challenging Pacquiao. Despite what many saw as a lackluster performance by the African fighter, Clottey vows to comeback strong in his next fight. "I will be going back strong and ready to take on any big name again," he said. – OMG, GMANews.TV
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