Final Pacquiao vs. Clottey Preview

WBO world welterweight champion Manny "Pac-Man" Pacquiao will defend his crown against former IBF welterweight titlist "The Hitter" Joshua Clottey tomorrow night at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, TX.

Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 KOs) is the first boxer to win seven world titles in seven different weight divisions and he deserves his rating by Ring Magazine as the No. 1 pound-for-pound boxer in the world.

In January, the Filipino boxing superstar was honored as the fighter of the decade by the Boxing Writers Association of America.

Pacquiao was chosen as the fighter of the decade over greats Bernard Hopkins, Joe Calzaghe, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Shane Mosley, Juan Manuel Marquez, and Marco Antonio Barrera.

"Pac-Man" has long been considered an extremely skilled and accomplished fighter.

Still, Pacquiao's dominating recent performances versus Miguel Cotto (34-2, 27 KOs), Ricky Hatton (45-2, 32 KOs), and Oscar De La Hoya (39-6, 30 KOs) clearly elevated the southpaw to an iconic status.

The "Fighting Pride of the Philippines" is tough, agile, quick, and incredibly powerful for a man of his relatively diminutive frame.

Justifiably, Pacquiao, 31, will enter his matchup with Clottey (35-3, 20 KOs) as a decided favorite to emerge victorious.

However, Clottey, 33, is also a legitimate prizefighter and he should prove to be a very difficult opponent for Pacquiao in the ring.

Clottey, a native of Ghana who currently resides in the Bronx borough of New York City, is a tough and skilled orthodox pugilist who possesses a solid combination of size, speed, stamina, and power.

Furthermore, Clottey owns a tremendous chin and he has never been knocked out in a professional contest.

Despite Clottey's formidable pedigree, many individuals within The Sweet Science simply contend that Pacquiao will overwhelm "The Hitter."

"Clottey will come to fight and he has a good chin," said Mike Cappiello, a native of Brockton who once fought for the IBO super featherweight title and retired with an impressive mark of 33-6. "But, 'Pac-Man' will win by knockout in the later rounds."

Roger "Pit" Perrone is a respected boxing trainer who also hails from "The City of Champions" and now works with Cappiello at his gym, Cappiello Brothers Boxing and Training.

Perrone is in agreement with Cappiello that Pacquiao will prevail over Clottey in approximately 24 hours time.

"Clottey is a good fighter. But, he's in over his head this time," said Perrone, 73. "The pressure that Manny will put on Clottey from round one will be too much. Clottey will cave inside of six rounds."

Pacquiao will trump Clottey and extend his consecutive winning streak to 12.

Nevertheless, "Pac-Man" will be struck often and hard by "The Hitter" and this fight should be way more intriguing than most analysts predict that it will be.


* Cappiello Brothers Boxing gym is located on 162 Main Street in Brockton, MA (02301).

508-583-4303


* Listen to Roger "Pit" Perrone on the Marciano-Tartaglia Show Friday nights from 5-7 PM on 1460 AM (WXBR)

To call into the show, dial 508-586-1460 anytime between the aforementioned hours.