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Joshua Clottey: Requiem for a replacement
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This Saturday night, Joshua Clottey will find himself standing toe-to-toe with history. Forty-thousand fans, eighty-thousand eyes, will all be focused on the man opposite Clottey - the incomparable Manny Pacquiao. Pressure? Fear? A warrior the measure of Clottey knows not these things.
A momentary champion and long-term contender, Clottey enters the fight a heavy underdog. Average sports fans planning to order the latest Pacquiao-pay-per-view masterstroke may see a short order in the form of the challenger, but those who follow the fight game know that Clottey, a dangerous, iron-jawed foe, carries enough power and brute will to pose a challenger for the world's finest fighter.
After all, Clottey's three losses have all been at the hands of men who once laid claim to the welterweight crown - Carlos Baldomir, Antonio Margarito, and Miguel Cotto. None of which, however, managed to knockout the Ghana native. In fact, it was a controversial stoppage due to a low blow that deprived Clottey a victory over Baldomir more than a decade ago. And let's not forget wins over the late Diego Corrales and Zab Judah - who he defeated for the IBF Title.
However, it was in his last outing that Clottey's true threatening imposition surfaced. En route to a razor-thin decision loss to Cotto, Clottey pressured the former champion for twelve rounds, never willing to take a step back, let alone spare a punch. Although I, and many others, scored the fight in Cotto's favor based on rounds one, it was clear that, even in defeat, Clottey had beaten the Puerto Rican superstar. In fact, Clottey managed to deliver so much damage, that many in the boxing community immediately began questioning whether or not Cotto would be able to regain his championship-caliber status. (In all fairness, Cotto proved in his next fight with Pacquiao that he remains a very game fighter).
So, as millions tune-in this weekend to watch Manny Pacquiao dismantle a substitute opponent for a would-be Floyd Mayweather, consider yourself forewarned: Joshua Clottey is nobody's substitute. Much more a boulder than a speed bump, it's certain that Clottey's tough-as-nails style will help to light up the Texas night. While this writer still anticipates a Pacquiao win en route to a hopeful showdown against the Mayweather-Mosley victor, I won't be the least bit shocked if Clottey manages to rattle the PacMan, or if he somehow withstands the same type of punishment that prematurely dispatched DeLaHoya, Hatton, Cotto, and coutless others.
In other words, this will be a paycheck Manny's gonna have to earn . . . the hard way.
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(sam.rossi.1@gmail.com)
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