Joshua Clottey and Manny Pacquiao (photo: Chris Farina)
The sport of boxing is littered with just about every kind of character you can imagine but I’ve been hard pressed to find many people as fascinating as Mauritius’ Vineash Rungea. For as many places as he has traveled and experiences he has taken in, Rungea is best described as an ‘aspiring superstar’ if you ask him yourself and his involvement in the sport of boxing has come with its share of interesting tales.
Born in the Republic of Mauritius, an island nation just off the coast of South Africa, Rungea would later relocate to England before eventually making the move to America in 2006. It’s hard to describe the lefty fighter in just a few words but he has a cocky swagger similar to that of a young Prince Naseem Hamed and to call his style in the ring unorthodox would be an extreme understatement.
Rungea spent some wild nights in New York before shifting his operation down to South Florida in the summer of 2008. With no real place to go he found himself on the footsteps of Contender’s Gym in Fort Lauderdale, pleading with trainer John David Jackson to give him a shot. After some initial doubt, Jackson would oblige and Rungea has since become a fixture at the facility.
From sparring the likes of Nate Campbell and cracking jokes with Super Middleweight contender Allan Green and former champion Randall Bailey, Rungea’s presence is always felt in some form. With aspirations of becoming a star in the America, boxing at times seems more like a deep invested hobby than a profession to the man known as ‘Vinny’. Rungea noted that he has been pondering a move to Las Vegas in order to jumpstart his career but seems content for the moment staying out East.
Just this past month Rungea was able to reconnect with a man from his past as former IBF Welterweight champion Joshua Clottey moved his camp down to Florida as he continued to train diligently for his upcoming March 13th fight with Manny Pacquiao. Upon seeing his old friend from Accra, Ghana, Rungea was instantly taken back and recalls their initial meeting years back.
“I’ve known Joshua for a long time, before he became a world champion,” Rungea recently stated. “I met Joshua in New York. We had the same manager at the time. He’s a good fighter and a great gentleman. We got along well. I think it was about four years ago I met him.”
Clottey recently departed Florida to attend to matters back in New York as he held an open public workout. During their time together Rungea claims that Clottey was looking extremely sharp and that he is strong ‘as a truck’. Clottey’s generous nature and low key demeanor have endeared him to many and Rungea has always looked up to him.
“That’s the thing about Joshua,” he claimed. “You can never tell what type of person he is without really getting to know him. He’s a regular person but he’s a very cool guy. I respect him and before he became a world champion I always looked up to him. I even used to tell him that he was my hero. Now I really mean it.”
Rungea is just as quick to praise Clottey’s March 13th opponent Pacquiao, as he has always had immense respect for the Filipino icon. With both men coming together for a clash of this magnitude, Rungeau’s emotions seem to spill over.
“Pacquiao is a true, real warrior,” Rungea said. “People talked about him but you have to respect him for what he did and where he came from. He made it and he didn’t use any drugs, he is natural and 100%. I respect him for that. Manny Pacquiao has always been my idol and it is like a dream come true. My hero is fighting my idol. This is a blessing, you have no idea. This is for real.”
An interesting scenario indeed but when analyzing the matchup there seems to be no hesitation whatsoever coming from Vinny. While Pacquiao’s recent accomplishments have put him on a completely different level, Rungea feels that he is making an error in choosing Clottey as his next ring mate.
“No disrespect to him but he is fighting Joshua and he is making the biggest mistake of his career,” Rungea stated boldly. “Joshua is a real Welterweight and too strong. Pacquiao is a strong boxer but he is coming up. He was good at the lower weights but now he is coming up and it’s too much. He can be great at a lower weight but at Welterweight the opposition is too good. Joshua Clottey is a mean fighter.”
Everyone is entitled to their opinion but perhaps Rungea’s can be respected a little bit more due to the intimate nature in which he has known Clottey over the years and most recently in camp. While sparring Clottey over the past few weeks he was able to see first hand just how focused, determined, and on-point the rugged brawler truly is.
“You know me,” Rungea boasted. “I fight anybody. In there I wanted to emulate Pacquiao because he is also a southpaw and I tried to give him the same moves. Pacquiao can throw punches from any angle, you have no idea. The first round I was using my speed but Joshua just kept watching me. But when he throws punches he knows where his target is and he is hitting with a lot of power. He will break Pacquiao down.”
Always a man never afraid to put his neck on the line, Rungea has rubbed some people the wrong way in his life but his courageous demeanor and outlandish antics are what make the journeyman fighter who he is today. With that in mind, it isn’t surprising to hear Vinny state that he feels Clottey will be able to do something to Pacquiao that hasn’t been done in quite some time.
”Joshua is too strong right now and he’s confident from the camp he has had. I believe he will retire [Pacquiao] because he won’t’ be able to take the punches. He’s punching too hard. I sparred with him and I swear to God he’s vicious. Pacquiao has never fought anybody like this before. There is no way he can stop it. I believe it’s going to be a good fight and people should watch.”
In the news
David Avila takes a look at Shane Mosley
Jeff Mayweather breaks down Pacquiao-Clottey and the Super Six
Images of the week
During his career Paulie Malignaggi has seen his share of inspiring victories and heartbreaking defeats. All the while he has found a way to remain in the sport's spotlight. Click on the collage above to see Malignaggi throughout the years...
Click on the collage above to see images of Manny Pacquiao, Joshua Clottey, Roy Jones, Bernard Hopkins, Celestino Caballero, and more...
Chris Robinson is based out of Las Vegas, Nevada. He can be reached at Trimond@aol.com, www.Twitter.com/CRHarmony, and www.Facebook.com/CRHarmony. More of his work can be found HERE
Comments
I think Mr. Vinny forgot the Cotto vs Clottey fight, and Cotto knockdown Clottey with a Jab., and Cotto hit Manny with a huge punch and Manny. And He can't compare him to Manny, I respect Rungea as a fighter, and I believe Clottey is very strong, but Manny moves differently compare to Rungea. No comparison at all.. Good luck Mr. Rungea but your analysis is bitt off of reality.
everybody says the same thing Vinny but will see on fight night..
Clottey himself noted that Pacquiao comes in and starts throwing punches and said he’ll be ready because, the Ghanian pointed out, “ My body can take it. When he throws punches at me I will block him and that will confuse him.”
Clottey said in reply to Pacquiao’s 30 punches he will throw 4 and “the four will connect while I will block most of the 30. I will wear him down for sure.”
Rungea is a crap... a featherweight with 2 wins 15 losses without knockout power. What a joke.....
I just wanna ask? are their gays in boxing? is Paulie Malignaggi one of them?
Clottey is in for a rough night not the other way around.For sure,clottey will give manny lots of problem but i'm also pretty sure manny will give him the worst beating of his boxing career.That's what all of pacman's past opponents before the fight,they break down manny,but ended up losing by a beat down.
Vinny should calm himself up ,Pacquiao and coach Roach and Arum plus tem Pacquiao wants to give an excellent fight for the fans.He should feel proud of his friend Clottey b/c he is chosen as the right opponent to Pacquiao.To refresh Vinny's memory,Manny is always looking for a fight in the ring with such kind of world class caliber boxer.The reason is simple,a lackluster fight in the ring ,is like a robbery with full props and coverage and being watch and see worlwide.The sport of boxing is lifting up it's image everytime the fightmatch lives up to it's hypes and promotion .If the people feel happy then Pacquiao is instrumental in that.However if the paying fans are not entertain and the worst feeling shortchanged in watching a boxing match the boxers clearly contributed to it and the spread of that negative feeling won't stop right there and then.So, Vinny Pacquiao and Clottey are part of a good deed,to spread happiness to peoplethat loves to see an excellent boxing match.
Do you believe this jerk ??? His records speaks for Himself:
Vineash Rungea Records: Won 2 (KO 0) + Lost 15 (KO 2) + Drawn 3 = 20
Rounds boxed 93 KO% 0
that what they say before clottey fight cotto yet cotto won over him. thats what camp cottos said before the fight with PAC and look what happened. PAC is different...you might be strong but you better remained that way until the final bell because PACs punches hurts from round 1 to 12. After the cotto fight never again will I doubt PACMAN.
Yeah yeah yeah Vinny. It is true Clottey is very strong for Pacquiao....Bobby Pacquiao maybe hehehe
ALL BOXING FANS AROUND THE WORLD AGREED TO BOYCOTT THE FIGHT OF GAYFLOYD-MOSLEY!!!!!! PLEASE BEAR WITH US INTELLIGENT FANS!!!!! DON'T BE STUPID TO SPEND YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY FOR THIS CRAP!!!! PLEASE PASS THIS MESSAGE TO ALL FANS!!!
Manny is a warrior and prefers to fight boxers who have good chances of defeating him. Even if he loses, people will still watch his fights because he is an exciting boxer who does not run away. Little Floyd, on the other hand, will only fight when he is sure he will win. If he loses his next bout, his fans will abandon him because his "undefeated" record against patsies is all he has and also because he is a boring boxer.
TO PROBER:
Here's the answer to ur query if there are 'gays' in boxing.
ANSWER: Yes, there are and Paulie is not just one of them BUT their de-facto 'QUEEN'. Floyd Mayweather???? Nice u have him in ur mind too..... Mayweather is the real 'CLOSET QUEEN', he's gay but doesn't show in public unlike Paulie.
In terms of strength and mass, Clottey is above Manny, no question about that.
Only IF Clottey hit Manny solidly, that maybe Rungea's prediction is going to happen.
Remember though that speed kills. Manny can accumulate a bunch of stinging rights and lefts in one attack and... well, dla Hoya, Cotto and Hatton can attest to that.
Rungea was right on the button about Clottey as a mean fighter. Clottey will observe first before he strikes and when he strikes Clottey seldom misses his mark and if he hits his mark it will surely devastates his opponent. Roach and Pacquiao are planning to make a spectacular show of fireworks. Well, that's bad for team Pacquiao because wanting to show-off would just lead you to commit big errors and usually, showing-off would just negate every defensive stance a fighter has in his arsenal. If Pacquiao really wanted to win this fight, he should avoid the mentality of a ring swagger, he should focus on his fight plan and execute it with all his power and speed. With Pacquiao's quick feet, he has the advantage to anticipate Clottey's every move while executing his own fight plan. Gerry Penalosa, Bryan Viloria and Marvin Sonsona got defeated because all of them have underestimated their respective opponents, Pacquiao will end up as one of them if his focus is to show-off, not on winning.
well, with all the hype and discussions, it tells how sizzling hot the fight will be in march 13... forget about the may 1 fight, that bout will be a ballroom dance show. LOL
clottey will really be a good contender for manny.
i cant wait already what this two fighters will bring out up coming march 13. i just cant wait
this what makes manny a true warrior...he's willing to face the biggest risk inside the ring ...unlike other popular fighters who fights someone if the price will earn them millions..
No relation to the article. CAN ANYONE PLEASE SET ME UP FOR A FIGHT WITH MALIGNAGGI? This guy is so pathetic. His comments about Pacquiao is so annoying now. I've never been in a boxing ring, nor I have a boxer's body but I can punch. This Malignaggi deserves to fight me, some unknown and inexperienced. He doesn't deserve to fight hard working boxers whom he can just accuse of anything illegal. Yo Paulie!!! LISTEN, fight me! You may knock me out, but you can't take my pride off me you blabbermouth!
all the game plans will be effective when put into? use but it is hard to
implement the game plan when your opponent is f***ing fast. speed kills
Manny will tear you down like a cow in the farm ready to sale in the market
and the unbelievers will sing once again oh, he is just an overrated? boxer,
a nobody, have loss to cotto already that pacquiao schooled!!!, mark my word, they will sing those phrases in
chorus, hahaha!!! LOSERSSSS!!!
I will Knock out Pacquiao if he's not on any PED!
here comes another no-brainer boxer. they all say the same before fighting pacquiao. and look what happens during the fight. tsk tsk..same ole people going down and kiss the canvas when facing pacquiao
Joshua Clottey is big and strong like a Ghanian Mahoganny but
Manny Pacquioa is an Asian Bamboo, slick, flexible and swings in all directions...a bamboo can hit the ground when blown by a strong wind but it goes back to where it stands...
but a stiff Mahogany when blown or hit by wind 150-200 km/hr will break and fell cold outright....
just my wishful thinking....lol
Packy will go Wacky on Clotts.
MY PREDICTION: CLOTEY WILL SWARM ON PACQUIAO THE VERY FIRST ROUND. HE WILL FORCE PACQUIAO INTO THE ROPES. PACQUIAO WILL COUNTER AND TRY TO LAND THE LEFT HAND CROSS THAT KNOCKS THE LIGHT OUT OF HATTON. THIS WILL BE A REPEAT OF PACQUIAO-HATTON. pACQUIAO BY KNOCKOUT IN 1 OR 2. REMEMBER MY NAME AND PREDICTION.
hell hath no fury like the pacman. heaven has no better friend
than manny, inspiring and generous to those who look up to him.
Pac will Wack Clot :-)
not a gimme fight like floydocaine vs marquez
we pinoys don't understand the use of haha or lol we just see others do and we follow.....we pinoys are very good at following...and sucking off our idol and hero
Let's see!
Well, i've about this many times... nothing new... except the color of the clottey... he looks scary though, because he is too dark. The only way pac will loose is if there will be brown out in the arena... no chance for Pac to see and catch the dark chocolate Clotty...
malignaggi is a lousy fighter and when he punch he just like he touch your skin.
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