Pacquiao-Clottey Fight Prediction by Freddie Roach

It may be wishful thinking, but the earlier Manny Pacquiao stops challenger Joshua Clottey in their March 13 welterweight title fight, the better.

"If he gets him in one, I’m much happier, believe me," Roach told a couple of Manila-based sportswriters shortly after seeing the reigning World Boxing Organization (WBO) champion go through eight rounds of sparring Thursday (Friday in Manila) at the Wild Card gym in Hollywood.

"But Clottey has never been knocked out before, and I don’t think that’s going to happen. But you never know."

Clottey, 32, and from Accra, Ghana, but now based in Bronx, New York, has never been knocked out in his 39 pro fights, with all three of his losses coming either by unanimous decision or disqualification.

On Wednesday during Pacquiao’s open public workout, Roach, who turns 50 on Friday, March 5, boldly declared that the challenger won’t last the distance; even singling out that Clottey will break down come the ninth round.

Roach said he did mention round nine as the possible time when Clottey will go down since "they (reporters) forced me to pick a number."

"And I pick No. 9 all the time because that’s my favorite number," the four-time Trainer of the Year stressed.

And neither will he coerce Pacquiao to go for a knockout on the ninth round just because he predicted so.

"No, no, no," he repeatedly said. "I would never do that."

"But it won’t go 12 rounds, that’s my prediction."

Roach pointed out Clottey, the former International Boxing Federation (IBF) welterweight champion, hasn’t fought a fighting machine like Pacquiao in his entire career.

And like the great Oscar De La Hoya, the great disciple of the great late trainer Eddie Futch believes Clottey will be forced to quit the 12-round fight.

"The thing is, he’ll be going to be overwhelmed by the punches, and he’ll get it from so many angles. He’s never fought a guy who swarms over him like Manny Pacquiao," said Roach.

"He’s not used to that. Like Oscar (De La Hoya), we’ll let him quit it, I feel."

Roach felt more confident of a Pacquiao victory after the world’s top pound-for-pound king sparred for five rounds with Abdullay Amidu and old timer David Rodela.

The popular Filipino southpaw even had to take it easy on his long-time sparring partner the moment he bloodied the nose of Rodela with a bruising straight left.

"He looked really good, really sharp today. I’m very happy where he’s at, the game plan is in place and he knows what to do," said Roach later.

Knowing that Clottey has a very dangerous uppercut, Roach has that thing taken cared of during training camp, now on its seventh week.

"He (Clottey) is very fine with it. So I want Manny to keep his distance, that’s what we’re working out in sparring. He did a beautiful job of keeping the distance today in sparring. He knows what I want," Roach said, pointing out they’ll fight more like the way they did when Pacquiao fought Mexican rival Juan Manuel Marquez when the champion "slides out, slides to the side and uses the counterpunch."

Six more rounds are scheduled on Saturday and four on Monday, after which, it’s off to Dallas in the final week leading up to the fight.

Source : GMANews

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It's not an upset, just a win says Clottey

Clottey, 32, is the clear underdog heading into his clash with the pound-for-pound king on March 13.

But the Ghanaian is confident he can defy the odds at the Cowboys Stadium in Texas.

Clottey said: "Pacquiao is a human being, like everyone else. He's just a really good fighter who is currently No1.

"If I win this fight, I will never feel like I beat the best fighter in the world.

"I will feel like I had a fight with the best fighter out there right now — and I won.

"I'll say, 'It's not an upset, just a win'."

Source : thesun

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Pacquiao-Valero Fight

Anyone still sulking about the collapse of Manny Pacquiao's blockbuster clash with Floyd Mayweather might just be about to perk up.

The possibility of a scrap between Pacquiao and Edwin Valero will drag even the most disillusioned fight fan out of the doldrums - a mouth-watering scrap rising from the ashes of the scuppered pound-for-pound play-off with Mayweather.

Valero, arguably the only fighter on the planet more exciting than the revered Filipino, has set his sights on what he rightly claims to be "the fight the world wants to see".

While a clash between pound-for-pound king Pacquiao and predecessor Mayweather must, for the good of boxing, happen at some point in the future, a Pacquiao-Valero tear-up would excite most boxing insiders more than any other fight in the last decade.

With a record of 27 stoppages from 27 fights, Valero is the most exciting and aggressive fighter on the planet. Pacquiao, meanwhile, is the most complete fighter of his generation having started out at light-flyweight before moving through the divisions and dishing out beatings to everyone put in his way.

While Pacquiao-Mayweather would be an intriguing and necessary clash pitting the world's top two against each other, a fight between the Filipino firebrand and Valero would be pure indulgence for the viewing public.

It promises a blur of furious violence so thrilling that nobody would complain about paying hefty pay-per-view fees for a fight likely to last barely a few rounds.

After dismantling tough challenger Antonio DeMarco to force a retirement after nine rounds last weekend, WBC lightweight champion Valero - who moved up a division last year to capture that belt - revealed his ambition to step up again and compete at light-welterweight.

To do so would be to head tantalisingly close to Pacquiao-infested waters.

And just the suggestion of a fight between the two is prompting many in the sport to get excited.

First, it seems likely Valero will jump in at the deep end by challenging WBO light-welterweight champion Tim Bradley and, should he come through, with Pacquiao meanwhile navigating his way past Joshua Clottey, a meeting between the two will move to the top of the agenda.

"That's the fight the world wants to see," Valero said after impressing against DeMarco.

"I demonstrated once again (against DeMarco) that I am a boxer, that I do side steps, and I'm technical. I've never said it, but all my team and the people around me know that I can box.

"It's just that a majority of the fights have been against boxers who have gone out early."

While it seems promoter Bob Arum - who also promotes Pacquiao - is keen to throw him in against Bradley, Venezuelan Valero is also eyeing hardman Juan Diaz.

"I hope that it can be in Texas against the 'Baby Bull' Diaz so I can prove I have power in this weight category," said Valero.

There, however, is the first of two stumbling blocks. Texas is the only place in America Valero can fight, because of an ongoing refusal to licence him elsewhere due to an old head injury suffered in a motorcycle crash early in his career.

Unless that changes - and it would be a suspicious coincidence for a change of heart to suddenly occur if such a massive fight was in the offing - the fight cannot be staged in Las Vegas or New York.

The other obstacle in Valero's way is his desire to hold onto his WBC lightweight belt, with the scrapper appealing to the governing body to allow him to move up to 140lbs while retaining his title.

Keen to keep one of their most marketable champions, they may cede to his request, while Pacquiao is fighting Clottey in Dallas anyway so why not stage a showdown there as well?

Valero's biggest challenge will be surviving such a dangerous 'tune-up' fight, however, be it against Diaz or Bradley.

Wherever their allegiance lies, fans of the sweet science will be rooting for both men to come through and remain on this most tantalizing collision course.

Source : SportingLife.com

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