Maybe Joshua Clottey's teeshirt should say "Neverlast."
By my calendar, next Saturday night is not only the night before that cracksmoking cherub, Cupid, starts shooting love arrows to and fro.
I'm hoping the icon of romance will zap Floyd Mayweather who is throwing not flowers or boxes of chocolates at Sugar Shane Mosley and Bernard Hopkins even going so far as to label SSM as “a puppet” for Weekend at Bernie's.
I understand Mosley's rapid reply was: “Hey, I resemble that!”
Hopkins was a bit more severe, saying, "Wait until my boy Shane turns Flippant Flomo into Howdy Doody."
But I digress, back to the timeline, back to next Saturday night.
It is also, this Feb. 13, one month before Joshua Clottey tries to cash in on his Power Ball/Mega Millions ticket against Pinoy Idol Manny Pacquiao in the Cowboys football playpen in Arlington, Tejas.
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No playtime, no long plane flights for Pacquiao, in midseason form at Wild Card Gym (Top Rank/Chris Farina)
I've been known to push the panic button too early, for sure, but I want to ask this question, right now, is the Ghanaian preparing to fail against Pacman by failing to prepare?
I, for one, am completely underwhelmed by the reports or lack of same about Clottey working his backside off in this, the greatest opportunity of his career.
He's training in The Bronx yet he is supposed to shift his camp down to the warmer climes of my old residence, Fort Lauderdale.
He just wasted several days by flying to and from Africa where he was supposedly working to secure a US entry visa for his self-selected trainer.
Top Rank/Chris Farina
Not a word about having sparring partners on board or bearing down both at the gym or in doing roadwork and other conditioning. Manager Vinny Scolpino did say that, once they are settled in South Florida, Team Clottey will have a head trainer and a conditioning guru in tow.
Meanwhile, the Pacman camp is cooking with hot grease, running on all cylinders and has quality sparmates lined up awaiting their turns against Manny.
I'd hate to think that while Manny is punishing his hired hands and the leather mitts held up by Coach Freddie Roach that Clottey is lounging on his couch.
Let me throw this out there now. Actually, let me toss out two different ideas.
One, and this is something I've written before, Clottey has a bit of a reputation among boxing insiders as being a “game quitter.” In other words, he is not what Big Al Braverman and other oldtimers would derisively refer to as “a cayoodle,” meaning a heartless fighter.
A “game quitter” is a fighter who, when the going gets tough, mentally and physically refuses to bite down and just accepts losing. You saw this in Clottey's split decision loss to the dented by Margarito Miguel Cotto. Instead of lurching forward and stepping on the gas down the stretch, Clottey inexplicably took both feet off his accelerator and went into a survival mode.
If he does that against Pacquiao, you know the outcome. As they say in that racket known as tennis, game, set, match.
My second opinion and something to look for in the football playpen where the Cowboys roam is that we may be looking at an overly relaxed Clottey turning into Manny's least dangerous foe since glorified journeyman David Diaz (he was no game quitter, just 100 percent game).
Usually, I ascribe Roach's daily blatherings to the prefight propaganda category. But over at Chez Freddie, also known as the Wild Card, Roach is only talking Pacman by KO.
There hasn't been a tepid response from the Clottey camp, there has been zero response. Whatever happened to fighting fire with fire or balut with bombs?
Perish the thought but does Clottey subliminally see himself as the “B” side player who only got the Megamanny massive payday because he's on Uncle Bob Arum's roster?
Will Clottey pop up in Texas merely to pass go and collect his paycheck and not with the proportiante fire in the belly which might lift him to a shocking upset?
They say a leopard does not change its spots.
I don't think a “game quitter” does, either.
There will be no shame in Clottey's game if he fights desperately, battles hard and goes balls to the stadium walls against the Pinoy Icon.
Anything less is a disservice to himself and to the sport.
Maybe Clottey will surprise me but, right now, he is not exactly what anyone could properly call well organized and buttoned down.
Pacman's nose is to the Roach grindstone.
While Manny is running in Griffith Park, toiling at the gym or drilling with conditioning expert Alex Ariza, where is Clottey?
On an airplane, I guess, flying to Ghana and now flying to Fort Lauderdale.
Clottey can't get those wasted hours back.
Is he preparing to fail by failing to prepare?
It's certainly a fair question.
(mlcmarley@aol.com)
Comments
So this is what they call Level Playing Field
By Paul Upham: Now that the contracts for the May 1 Floyd Mayweather Jr-Shane Mosley welterweight boxing match have been signed, SecondsOut can reveal a stunning component of their agreement. In signing off on the deal, Mosley has given Mayweather complete control over the drug testing to be implemented, apart from any testing that is required by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
A source who was involved in the contract negotiations for the fight told SecondsOut on Friday, “Shane has signed a contract that says Floyd can dictate the terms of the drug testing. Anything that Floyd wants is all right, as long as Floyd submits to the same testing requirements as Shane. There is no provision one way or another in the contract for public disclosure of the test results, although I would think that the parties would be bound to report a positive test result to the Nevada commission.”
Whats next for the Mosley/Mayweather fight:
The script will eventaully come out which decides the winner and its of course Floyd Maywether Jr.
Mr Marley, you are absolutely right on this. It seems that Clottey's camp is completely disorganized till now. His lack of quality trainer and lost training days will take its toll at fight night. I however would still consider this a good fight but if he continues his training regimen like this, for sure he'll loose the fight. But what is his manager doing? Isnt he supposed to organized this for Clottey? I want to see a good fight when i go to Texas, not one lopsided fight.
Anything that Floyd wants is all right, as long as Floyd submits to the same testing requirements as Shane.
Are you thinnking what i am thinking? One thing is for sure, they can produce all results for the public to see but if there is no documented Video with timestamp, Date, person involved on it, and how many times till fight time, wont mean crap at all unless you are a Mayweather fan of course. I would love to see Mayweather taking an injection in his arms before fight time and if he will really submit to it himself.
why bother, this could be Clottey's farewell fight. the money he is going to get is enough for him to retire, courtesy of Manny Pacquiao Retirement Plan. If he gets a bad beating from a smaller man he should retire, what can he prove down the road.
Clottey, like Mayweather jr are soon victims of twist of fate. The inadvertent turn of events i.e. earthquake in Haiti and Berto's withdrawal from the Mosley fight and the failure of the Pac/Floyd
negotiations will undoubtedly be factors if they lose to their prospective opponents. They say, a well prepared athlete has a good chance of winning than one who just wished he trained harder for the event. Knowing how little time Clottey has to prepare for this fight, he has no other choice but to do what he can to fulfill his dreams. I maybe wrong and it could be an upset but logic and simple common sense dictate otherwise.
Joshua Clottey, you have our respect.
Floyd Gayweather, you are a COWARD with a big mouth.
if Clottey reads this...
Marley !!
Game means you will stay in the fight to the end,,,dead game means you took your death while fighting, Quitter means what you described as a survivor. You can't say both in the same phrase,,mang !! LOL,,,,A cur is a QUITTER... For instance in the last fight between Chavez and Roger Mayweather ,,, Roger is a QUITTER , cause he sat on his stool with his head hanging down. Just now we saw Demarco spelling QUIT against Valero.
Lots of fighters fight like there is no tomorrow UNTIL they get truly tested. Pac has been tested. Mayweather Jr has not but is fixing to get Tested real good,, Mosley is fixing to Knock him OUT. But Jr. may QUIT first or he will probably come up with a snapped little finger or a skint knee or something,,,Ain't no body telling me he really wants this fight. He is not liking all that has transpired. He will NOT intimidate Mosley,,, His end is Near.
Bulldawg
i was thinking about this. i agree. btw floyd is fighting SSM so its time for pacfans leave him alone.
Yeah, just what the f**k is clottey doing? This is supposed to be the biggest fight of his career. And defeating pacquiao will earn him boat load and boat load of money. He should be working his ass off 24 hours a day, 7 days a week if he can.
this is a big opportunity for Clotty,he just need to take advantage of it,there are more boxers lining up,wanted a fight with Paquiao,Valero vs Manny would be an exciting fight!
Here are some personal advice for pacman:
1.) Ask the NSAC to ban XYLOCAINE not just 1 week before the fight but all the time.
2.) Ask BOB ARUM to help u in #1.
3.) If #1 is done, agree to Mayweather's demand for a RANDOM DRUG TEST 14 days before the fight (only if #1 is done).
4.) Fight Mayweather in December so that you can rest your tired body after the may election.
Mr. Writer, can you please send this to our "FIGHTER OF THE DECADE'... thanks a lot.
I'm a big Pacquiao fan since I'm filipino myself but it seems to me Clottey is getting feed into the wolves.
First, his old trainer all of a sudden can't get a US visa to train him in US. I'm sure a phone call from Bob Arum or his lawyers would have resolved the issue in the name of sportsmanship but that never happened.
Second, we complain about Clottey not getting enough training for this fight. Well, it takes money to pay for the training, training partners and training camp and I know Clottey don't have that much money to pay for caliber of fighters for sparring partner and a decent training camp. Yes, we can partially blame his manager on this also.
With all of that said, I still believe that it is up to the fighter to make the best of everything or anything that he has. Pacquiao used to train in the dirt with no shoes on when he was in the Philippine. If I am Clottey's trainer, I should concentrate on his power, blunt pure force like Rocky. This is his only chan
How come no one (from espn,yahoosports, sky etc.) dare to ask? Mayweather Jr. about his usage of xylocaine?????????
Listen alla youz people!
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I sincerely want a level playing field...
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as long as I get my unlimited injections of XYLOCAINE.
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hehe... oh yeah, this testing isn't included in my righteous crusade
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hehe, yeah..ehem..
its just to build up an excuse.. clottey/pac is fixed.. arum cant afford to see pac lose to clottey.. a hefty loser's bonus is enough for clottey.
BRAVO!!!
RIGHT MAN!! HOW COME THE KFC WASN'T QUERIED ABOUT HIS XYLO USE BEFORE A FIGHT WHEN HE WAS INTERVIEWED BY SKY SPORTS?? OR WHY WASN'T ASKED TOO WHY HE DUCKED THE PINOY MEXECUTIONER EH??? SCRIPTED INTERVIEW??
Do us a favor Joshua Clottey!!! Schock the World!!!
Knock the midget clean out!!!!
Please!!!
hey, show some respect. Tennis is life, not a racket.
The element of surprise is on Clottey's favor. The element of surprise has won many battles. If I was Pac, I will just continue to prepare for a war inside the ring.
Clottey looks for excuses, this will be one. His old trainer who helped him beat Margarita untill he hurt his little pinky finger and the same trainer who helped him beat Cotto, works in the same gym where Clotty is now. Kwame Asante! clottey dumps Asante since he does not want to pay. Kwame has been with him for the last 7 years driving him all over, getting him prepared, even found the manager clottey used. Oh an by the way, when Cotto threw clottey down, clottey came back to the corner crying i want to quit..
Clottey has the natural talent, strenght and ability to clinic Pacquaio all night long!! Since when did Pacquaio become a boxer? Clottey's defense, technician like boxing abilty, and superb counterpunching abilities are gonna overwhelm Pacquaio. And Pacquaio will lose this fight! But being as though he is the financial interest of the sport right now, he'll be the beneficiary of a very controversial decision.
here's what i think, Bob Arum asked Clottey to take a dive, and Clottey was insulted, and said "f*** you Bob, i just did that against Cotto for you, you want me to do that again? Hell No!"
So Bob makes a call to his buddy former Pres Bush and says "i need you to use your government connects and make sure that Clottey's trainers don't get thier visas, i can't have this guy messing with my cash cow" - what happens next is going to be crazy, Clottey doesn't get any real training in, but makes weight, he comes into the fight angry and determined more than we've ever seen before, instead of having the fight brought to him by Manny, he takes the fight to Manny and just unleashes haymakers to the head and body and knocks him out!, lesson of the story- Bob Arum is a shifty individual, believe nothing he says...pacman will not fight Mayweather or Mosley, he will beat clottey then fight margarito then fight foreman or valero then retire, he will never fight any prime fighter with boxing skills
clotey is going a kill manny hahahahahaha
Freedom, "I agree completely!" This Bob Arum-Freddie Roach sideshow is starting to look a little too intentional now. ""Protect Manny at all cost" to his reputation or our own Freddie!
Spewing garbage is an outlet of a coward letting it go.
A defense mechanism of a coward to get rid of it.
If it puts the other little guys fighters screwed its incedintal. It really won't work on a fighter who is really that great.
Vocal abuse and Xylo only show how desperate and low is KFC.
Mosley beats KFC
Pac beats KFC
Pac beats Mosley
Pac beats you FREEDOM.
How,s that? Big "O" mouth?
Manny is the best but if he looses this fight he is gone. How come I'm hearing Valero vs Manny? that is way too far guys... Valero is a good fighter with exiting record but if he wants to climbed Pacs Teritory he needs to pass opponents like, Hatton, Marquez etc. Not easy to get where Manny is right now. Mabuhay ka Manny.. Manny Pacquiao is a real fighter. Hes faith with god is so high, thats where he gets his strength. Manny Pacquiao was rewarded with speed, stamina, money now, girls also... example ha.. Rica, Krista and some other white girls in america. I wish i am him.. I wanna taste Krista and Rica. Yum. yum.
Enough is enough. yes I had sex with Manny Pacquiao, but not just Manny also with Freddy Road and Alex Arisa for the Right price..
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