Clottey trainer: I have key to beating Pacquiao

Saying he's got Manny Pacquiao all figured out, Lenny De Jesus, the trainer of Joshua Clottey, believes his fighter can administer the Pacman’s first loss in the last five years. “I got the key to beating Manny Pacquiao. I already have Manny in my mind how he fights," said De Jesus, who used to work in the Filipino superstar’s corner.

The veteran trainer anticipates the Filipino southpaw to throw away his fight plan once the 32-year-old challenger hurts him, forcing Pacquiao to revert to his old bad habit of engaging his opponent in toe-to-toe exchanges. Once that happens, the former cutman in Pacquiao’s corner knows they have their work cut out for them. “So I expect my guy [Clottey] to put more pressure on him," said De Jesus. “When we put pressure on a guy to go backward, then I think we can make him go back to his old style. If he gets hurt or gets hit hard, he’s going to rely on his old style." De Jesus had been in Pacquiao’s corner for five straight fights beginning with the first Marco Antonio Barrera face-off in 2003 until his initial match with Erik Morales two years later. In that 2005 bout with “El Terrible," Pacquiao suffered a terrible gash under the eye owing to an accidental headbutt in the fifth round, resulting in a unanimous decision win for the Mexican warrior. De Jesus and Team Pacquiao parted ways from then on. It also proved to be the last setback of the 31-year-old seven-division champion. But De Jesus doesn’t hold any grudge against Freddie Roach, whom he respects very much and Pacquiao, the fighter he said his favorite of all time. It’s just that beating the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world today would give his ward Clottey the perfect opportunity to be recognized as a truly world-classed fighter. “This is a good opportunity to elevate him (Clottey) to another level. This is the time for us to shine, I think," he said. “He may not be a star like Manny Pacquiao, but he’ll become a star." However, Clottey has to conquer another opponent first – the weighing scales. On the eve of the official weigh in, Clottey is said to be still over the welterweight limit. Sportscaster Chino Trinidad reported that Clottey is “trying to squeeze himself dry to make the 147-lb limit" by running for 15 minutes and doing skipping ropes for 30 minutes on Thursday, less than 24 hours before the weigh in. - GMANews.TV