Analysts: ‘Superior’ Pacquiao too much for Clottey

Dissecting the upcoming showdown between Manny Pacquiao and Joshua Clottey, boxing analysts expressed belief the Filipino pound-for-pound king will throw his weight around the Ghanaian challenger. “It would be a good fight but I think Pacquiao is infinitely superior to Joshua Clottey," Ronnie Nathanielsz said in a TV interview with GMA. Fellow veteran analyst Eddie Alinea agreed, saying the Pacman will even deliver what others have failed to do – stop the durable Clottey. “Manny will be the first person to ever knock Clottey out," Alinea said. “Manny is a perfect fighter…magaling pa ang kanyang trainer [Freddie Roach]."
The Filipinos’ take on the March 13 duel between the WBO welterweight boss Pacquiao and the 32-year-old Clottey was shared by The Ring editor Michael Rosenthal, who did not foresee a competitive fight. “The Filipino has evolved into a near-perfect fighting machine – skilled, fast, powerful, resilient, experienced, well-prepared, you name it. Clottey is very good, nothing more. This fight will not be close," Rosenthal wrote in The Ring. He said Pacquiao’s baffling speed and work rate will enable him to dominate the challenger. “Clottey said he’ll be able to hit Pacquiao enough to slow him down – as he did against quick-handed Zab Judah - but I don’t think he can do it this time. Pacquiao’s ability to land fast, hard punches and avoid Clottey’s counters because of his mobility will be the key to the fight," Rosenthal noted. “Even if Clottey frustrates Pacquiao to some degree with his defensive skills and lands some counters, he will get outworked and lose a one-sided decision or get stopped late anyway. Clottey would have to change his approach to boxing to match Pacquiao’s pace, which isn’t going to happen. Clottey’s only chance to win is to hurt Pacquiao and then take him out. That isn’t going to happen, either," he added. Clottey, though, should not be totally counted out, according to Doug Fischer, another Ring editor. Fischer said Clottey’s size, defense, durability, body punching and underrated footwork will make this a competitive fight. “Few fighters love a shootout as much as Pacquiao because the dynamic southpaw does his best work against aggressive opponents. Clottey’s hit-and-cover-up tactics may frustrate the Filipino, who will have a difficult time landing clean punches to the bigger man’s chin and body," he wrote.

He also took note of Clottey’s rock-solid chin and ability to withstand a high volume of power shots, as demonstrated in his gigs with Miguel Cotto, Judah and Antonio Margarito who all failed to hurt him. At the same time, Fischer gave credence to the hard and accurate left to the body that Clottey is capable of landing, a key punch in his fights against Cotto and Margarito. “Pacquiao proved to have world-class welterweight whiskers during his showdown with Cotto, but how well does he take a genuine 147-pounder’s punch to the body?" he wondered. Another factor that might work against Pacquiao is the possibility of suffering from leg cramps during the fight, like what happened in his outing against Juan Manuel Marquez. “Kasi si Pacquiao, mahilig sa basketball, yan ang problema. Because he plays on different court, running up and down, he puts too much pressure on his knees and legs sometimes," Nathanielsz said. The Pacman actually got a shin splint recently but Team Pacquiao has apparently made the necessary adjustments that allowed him to heal and move forward with his intensive training for the Clottey fight. - GMANews.TV