While Manny Paquiao tried to engage Joshua Clottey during their fight at Cowboys Stadium Saturday, Clottey was clearly determined to leave Pac-Man at the altar.Some thoughts on the recent happenings in the world of the Sweet Science:
News: Manny Pacquiao pounds out a 12-round unanimous decision over Joshua Clottey.
Views: Pac-man has shown once again why he deserves to be at the top of pound-for-pound mountain. Even though Clottey basically decided to cover up and play defense for almost two-thirds of every round, Pacquiao still found a way to land punches and work his way in when he could. He never wavered from his game plan, and by the last couple of rounds, he was scoring frequently enough to make the Ghanian look wobbly and beaten. Regardless of how you feel about his part in the Mayweather negotiations, fight after fight, Pacquiao still finds a way to improve on his last performance and dominate his man. Add to that a pleasing action-based style, and that makes his fights worth watching every time out.
News: Manny Pacquiao outlands Clottey 246 to 108, throwing 832 more punches en route to his victory.
Views: Clottey better have enjoyed his time in the spotlight, because that’s likely the last he will taste of it. Put simply, Clottey didn’t show up with the will to win, and that is inexcusable for a fight and promotion of this magnitude. All he did was basically put the earmuffs on for most each round, throwing a few punches here and there. While you could give him the benefit of the doubt in terms of feeling Pacquiao out early on, when Clottey’s trainer, Lenny DeJesus, made it clear in between rounds that it wasn’t the game plan, it was apparent Clottey had made his mind up earlier as to how he ’d fight. You know damn well that Arum would never have had Clottey anywhere near the ring if he’d have known what kind of effort he’d be putting forth. Clottey has been known to take rounds off before, but this kind of thing likely has irreparably damaged his career and future earning potential. If you’re not going to try and win, who would want to see you fight?
News: The fight, nicknamed “The Event” packed more than 50,000 into Cowboys Stadium in Dallas, Texas.
Views: Can this possibly silence a critic or two as to whether boxing is dead? This fight ended up being the third-largest indoor crowd for a U.S. boxing match ever, and that is something significant. Manny Pacquiao is a bona-fide star, and even the stench of the Mayweather fight cancellation couldn’t stop the fans from coming out in droves. While the PPV numbers won’t come out for a bit yet, it’s safe to say that Oscar De La Hoya’s mantle has indeed been passed. The most famous man in the Phillipines is quickly becoming a household name everywhere else, which is just what boxing has needed.
News: “The Event” undercard featured Humberto Soto defeating David Diaz (lightweight), Alfonso Gomez making Jose Luis Castillo (welterweight) quit on his stool and John Duddy pounding out a decision against Michael Medina (middleweight).
Views: Remember when there used to be a fight or two on a Top Rank undercard that anyone was interested in? Just because Soto-Diaz is an improvement on the awful Julio Ceasar Chavez, Jr.-Troy Rowland dreck that passed for a co-feature at Paquiao-Clottey last year doesn’t mean it was passable.Perhaps Arum thinks boxing fans have short memories. Perhaps he took the ugliest girl to his junior prom so he could live with taking the second-ugliest to his senior prom. The three undercard fights that were broadcast were Top Rank Live-level fights, and wouldn’t be good enough for HBO or Showtime. So why show them here? The guess is that Arum knows he can get away with it, and as long as fans buy the main event, he can continue to do this kind of thing. Arum’s just lucky he has Pacquiao to carry the promotion, otherwise he’d probably be losing money, at least in terms of PPV buys.
News: Cruiserweight Marko Huck wipes out Adam “Swamp Donkey” Richards in three rounds on German soil.
Views: As much of an Internet sensation as the “Swamp Donkey” has been, it’s clear that he doesn’t have all that much talent. He looked lost and outclassed against the talented Huck, who pretty much had his way with Richards from the opening bell. This is the first serious step up in competition for the Donkey, and it could be his last. That doesn’t mean that he won’t make great fights on a Friday Night Fights or Top Rank Live card against like opposition, it just means that he shouldn’t be fighting guys in the top ten at 190 pounds. Still, Richards deserved his chance and the payday he received, so kudos to him. He’ll still be fun to watch, and probably expose a prospect or two along the way.
News: Andre Ward postpones his Super Six fight with Allan Green on April 24 due to a knee injury amid allegations from Green and promoter Lou DiBella that Ward’s camp was planning to sink the fight.
Views: Please, can we just have one postponement that doesn’t cause everyone to demand a federal ethics investigation? Ward is one of the biggest class acts in all of boxing, while Green is one of the biggest loudmouths. No one with any sense should doubt that Ward is legitimately hurt, and he also has no track record of canceling fights. DiBella, while upset as to how he heard about the cancellation (he said he didn’t hear it from Dan Goossen, Ward’s promoter), should be glad he’s even getting another piece of cheese. His first man, Jermain Taylor, was knocked out of the tournament by Arthur Abraham, if you remember. Does anyone really think that after soundly beating the excellent Mikkel Kessler that Ward’s afraid to fight Green, who barely beat Tarvis Simms in his last fight? Everyone just needs to relax and do this again when Ward’s ready to go. If nothing else, it will be Green’s biggest money fight (and biggest opportunity), so he should keep the complaints to a minimum.
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