I actually thought that Clottey did well the few times he let his hands go, but he just did not do it anywhere near enough. His few uppercuts were nice, and they seemed like they might have stung Pac a little. But Manny seems to have an uncanny ability to take punches that he did not have earlier in his career, even as he moves up in weight. I’m not saying he is on something, just calling it like I see it. I thought that this was especially true in the Cotto fight. Pac’s defense does not seem that great to me, yet he is just walking through shots.
Man, what a grand waste of time. And that undercard was pure booty, what the hell is Arum doing? That card was the worse one all around. The below ordinary John Duddy did just enough to insure that a dude-fest with Chavez Jr. will happen. Castillo also just showed up to get paid. Soto was not impressive at all. It looked like Arum got over big time on this one.
I have to give Pac credit for discouraging Clottey from throwing, if that is what really happened. I did not really see Joshua get hurt, so I’m not sure if that is what happened. But it appears that Clottey was kept on defense all the time by Pac’s activity. Pac’s speed just had him hypnotized, and he was too scared to throw. Man, they should not even pay Clottey.
Although all of the HBO cats were on his nuts (that’s their job), I don’t think that Pac was all that overwhelming tonight. I think it was more that Clottey was underwhelming.
But I have to give it up to Pac for encouraging Clottey to be underwhelming. A cat wrote in your mailbag last week that he thought that Clottey might have a little bitch in him. Well, at one point in the middle of the fight it seemed like Clottey was going to quit in his corner. Manny appeared to have taken Clottey’s heart, to the point where he did not want to even try to exchange. The non-stop incoming might of had something to do with that.
Peace,
Steve
My friend, I’m not putting you first to rub your prediction in your face. Way I see it, after seeing that undercard, you’ve suffered long enough. No crow eating needed, man. That thing was terrible. No disrespect to the fighters. They came out and took and gave punishment but for my money and time, reporting energy, gas money, and whatever else I care to tack on this price tag that was not worth the money. The main event, which I’ll get to in a bit, was what it was. But I thought Gomez vs. Castillo was just sad. Castillo’s legs and upper body movements looked like that of a shot fighter. Straight up. I just wanted it to be over as soon as it started. It didn’t surprise me he retired right after.
Castillo said, after the fight, he found out he doesn’t have it. At first, I had a snappy comeback like “He could have called me years ago and saved himself time and trouble.” But that’s f**ked up. The guy gave us one half of the brilliant Diego Corrales-Castillo I. I’ll always love him for that and my heart will always break for him just a little bit each time I watch him get punched helplessly on the ropes by the late, great “Chico”; Buddha ease his pain. What a miracle of a fight. That night, Castillo gave everything he had. Sure, he came in overweight for both the rematch and the rubber match, but from that first glorious fight on, it was a steady decline. The brutality of arguably the greatest championship fight of all time ended both men’s time as an elite fighter in the current sense of the word.
So God bless him. Hope you kept your money and, more importantly, I hope you keep your health.
I think Top Rank should match Alfonso “The Fonz” Gomez with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. I think Gomez can come in at 150-152, keep his speed and outbox, outhustle, and outsmart Chavez Jr. every day of the week and twice on Sunday. While he may not be the most talented fighter out there, in terms of extra-special speed or power, Gomez is smart and sound enough, technically, to make a good fight.
The reason I say that is because I’ll be damned if I ever have to see what HBO thinks Top Rank is planning: John Duddy vs. JCC Jr. Land sakes, why not throw Yuri Foreman in there with them? We can steel cage them in and gently fall asleep as nothing happens.
Soto/Diaz wasn’t a bad scrap. It just had two bad lead-in bouts so, as interesting a chess match as it was, I wasn’t in the mood anymore to watch “an interesting chess match,” ya know?
I gotta say, and I said it before, Soto is not the puncher he was at 126 and 130 pounds. I know Diaz is a tough, awkward guy and Soto did get him down twice, but it never seemed like Soto ever quite got Diaz’ respect. I don’t know. Something was missing from Soto. A solid game plan or sense of purpose. Something. In any case, I wish Edwin Valero would just fight him already. I think it could be a Fight of the Year candidate or a blowout for Valero. I’m just not sold on Soto at this weight. But Valero is having trouble with 135. So it evens out in my opinion.
At 140, Soto-Valero is a mismatch. Edwin can certainly carry it. In fact, I have a feeling it might end up being his optimum weight. I say let Timothy Bradley do his welterweight fight, Alexander get his voluntary defense with Zab Judah in St. Louis, and Valero-Soto at 135. Alexander and Bradley can choose to either take on Valero or each other first. There is so much talent at 140, it’s spooky. Malignaggi, Khan, Maidana, and Peterson also, and that’s just the top.
Back to my point. Edwin?...Fight Soto already.
Sorry I used your email to focus on the undercard but the guy who wrote “Clottey has b###h in him” wrote back in and he’s gotta get his props, too.
Much respect for writing back in and being first, man. Say hey to New York for me.
How many bangs is that? A lot.
The only remaining question left from Dallas is whether John Witherspoon is gonna sue Jim Lampley.
"BANG! BANG!! There it is again... BANG!!! You want more? BANG!! BANG!! BANG!!! BANG!!! BANG!!!! BANG!!!"
I assume u didn’t hear the broadcast at all. But dude, mention it to fans and they will fall on the floor in laughter. In Round 8 Lamps said "BANG" about 10 times. A new HBO standard of cheerleading. Please watch the replay if u don’t know what I’m talking about.
The Loveman
The Loveman? I’m not even going to ruin it by describing it. Folks, enjoy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RT2s9LTUvaA
The view from over there
Hi Gabe,
Just watched the Pacquiao fight in a cinema complex in Manila. Three screens devoted to the fight. I didnt see any other foreigner from where I was sitting. The capacity crowd were fired up and full of good humour, as they always are. What a disappointment Clottey was. He came to survive not compete. Im pretty disgusted with his poor effort. At this level of boxing surely the combatants must be looking for a way to defeat their opponent not simply last the distance and earn a paycheck. This is cheating the fans. Manny at times was trying to feint and draw a punch from Clottey in order to counterpunch a way into his chin but Clottey failed to be drawn for the most part. You could say that Manny’s battering ram approach against the Clottey defence wasnt working and I think Mayweather would have been watching with interest here as I see him counterpunching from a defensive punching if and when they meet. The Clottey fight pretty much showed Mayweather what he can expect from Manny. In Manny’s defence he is not a counterpuncher and he did come to fight which Clottey did not. Hopefully Clottey will not get a high echelon fight again as there are plenty of fighters out there more deserving.
Incidently the local news here is reporting that there was zero crime in Manila while the fight lasted.
Scott in Manila
That’s interesting, Scott. My question to you is, how did the crowd receive the overall experience? Were they as sleepy as I was or as restless as the crowd around me? Just curious.
I think Manny made Clottey stay who he is. We’re talking about a guy who had a bleeding, fading Cotto in front of him and he stopped punching. When Cotto came back, he didn’t meet the challenge. Just an easily discouraged fighter, I guess.
I gave Clottey the third. Now I haven’t seen that round again. I picked up a feed later that night from round six on, so I could see “bang” as the crowd around covered the commentary (thankfully). But I remember and my notes tell me Clottey was landing nice right hands, jabs, and uppercuts and he seemed to have zeroed in one during one of Manny’s connects. You have to catch Manny when he lands, not when he is moving. In the third, Clottey did that. But in the fourth, Manny changed up a bit, dug to the body ferociously and tamed him again. From then on, it was “The Manny Hits Punching Bag Hour.”
Something I wonder about is why they didn’t show how much the fighters weighed on fight night. It’s curious how HBO loves their CompuBox numbers and their prefight weigh-in and their odd, don’t-take-the-shoulder-width-into-account/armpit-to-the-end-of-the-fist reach measurement that goes against 150 years of boxing history. Sometimes (think a lot of Oscar De La Hoya’s later fights or Mayweather/Marquez, for example), they don’t show the weights. Add this one to the mix. Now, Joshua Clottey has been a welter since 1996 and even fought at 154 for a few fights. I’m not discounting Manny’s effort. The man threw nearly 1300 punches, but Clottey may have drained down one time too many and simply was unable to pull the trigger. Even when he got in close, he didn’t let go. Or maybe he tasted Manny’s power and realized that if he opened up, he’d get knocked out.
Whatever the case, the most important factor in Clottey’s behavior is his nature as a fighter. He’s a reluctant guy in there. Look at his first jabs in the fight. He looked like he was pulling back before he even landed. His body all pulling back, waiting to avoid getting hit. You don’t have power or gain respect like that. He fought a scared fight and Manny kept him that way. Plain and simple.
In regard to your take on Floyd vs. Manny, I would say this: I asked Shane Mosley at the L.A. presser if he thought this fight would be similar to the Winky Wright fights, which were against a defensive specialist on the same level of Floyd, and he said that they are two totally different styles. For one, Winky was a bigger guy and, two, the shell defense is nothing like Floyd’s. That presser story is coming out late Monday night.
I’d apply what Shane said to Manny vs. Floyd. Clottey, like Winky, uses a shell defense. Floyd is Floyd.
But it doesn’t matter in any case. I doubt we ever see that fight.
Thanks for your perspective, man.
From what you said, it seems Manny should be the guy wearing the Batman suit.
Props
Hello there!! Thanks for the great lil write up on the fight.
Some little points that I hope you’d like to respond!
1. Clottey DOES have b**** in him just like I had said. That said Pacquiao was throwing bricks at him and would have gotten most people out with that onslaught. It was surreal to see a Giant Welterweight
cover up scared as the little icon beat the hell out of him. That workrate was amazing man! I dont see any one doing to Clottey what Pacquiao did to him.
2. Thats why we love the Pacman and thats why we had 51000 people cheering on a Filipino in Texas. Knowing very well that he had won every single round, he still was gunning for a KO. Letting Clottey get
free shots and hoping to lure him into an exchange. We all know what Floyd would do in similar circumstances.
3. It is absolutely disgusting what that piece of s*** Floyd has done with the whole steroid allegations. Instead of celebrating and marveling at probably one of the top 10-15 greatest fighter of all times and certainly the greatest fighter since Ray Leonard, some of us speculate whether he is doping. Very Unfair!
4. How much did Clottey make for the fight? Ive heard 1.25 plus upside past 350K PPVs and Ive heard as much as 6 M (which sounds ridiculous and the man sure as hell didnt earn it in terms of selling tickets and
in terms of performing)
5. I am more convinced than ever that Pacquiao would run Floyd out of the ring. The dude is better every single time out and if southpaws like Zab and Corley put hands on you in the first few rounds, the same kinda hands from pacquiao would put you on your ass for the count.
Gracias!
Asim
Brother Asim, whatsup, man?
1) I gotta hand it to you, you called it. Clottey folded like a chair, as this fight went on. Whether it was the moment, the new corner, the weight, or anything else I’ve read on forums all night and day, the bottom line is Manny and Freddie Roach had a helluva game plan that took every bit of focus and energy Manny could muster. What’s lost in any criticism of Clottey is how bad a man Manny Pacquiao is. No, he didn’t get the KO, but I think he only truly explored it a few times. The game plan was simple. Freddie found that little opening in Clottey’s shield at his belly button and pointed Manny at it. The shots would start there and end on the left side with a right hook. Or vice versa. By the mid-rounds, Clottey had his elbows low and tight which further opened up the sides to hooks and the head to lefts and right hooks. Just beautiful game planning and execution. I’ve rarely seen Manny so focused. There wasn’t any playing or telling Clottey to come in. Manny stayed with what he needed to do which was discourage Clottey with volume and brutal body shots. And it worked. I think by the end, Clottey was beat up and knew he only had enough energy to last. He just wasn’t able to fight, too.
2) Absolutely. Manny kept a pace that the “Showtime”-era Lakers would have had trouble keeping. Unbelievable. If “The Event” was boring at all, it wasn’t Manny’s fault. Not much you can do- and many fights have shown this- when one guy wants to fight and the other wants to survive. There is no tougher opponent than a reluctant one. Props to Manny to attempting to give the fans what they came to see. Boo to Clottey for not giving all of himself in this effort.
3) Yeah, man. It’s ugly. But that’s the world we live in. It’s ruled by press. I hate that a great change in the sport, a right idea, was born out a negotiation that ultimately has left a question mark where once there wasn’t one.
But to be fair, spin goes both ways. Manny didn’t answer Max Kellerman’s question about why making Mayweather/Pacquiao is up to Floyd any more than Floyd answered my “Why now?” question. Actually Manny answered less. The question is simple. Is there a cutoff date for the blood tests that can be negotiated that will make this fight happen? Manny agreed to the random testing. It’s the cut off before the fight that is the question. If that is the biggest fight in boxing and they truly want it, this has to be worked out or the answer to the question has to be “We’re never taking that fight. Stop asking me about it.” Because, like it nor not, no matter how f**ked it was the way it came about, the new testing cat is out of the bag. It’s happening. So either Team Manny jumps on board or we’re just pulling the plug, entirely.
I understand Freddie Roach’s take that Floyd isn’t the commissioner. He isn’t. But he is setting an example in the sport and he’s using his own body to do it. He’s made his position clear. And no amount of callouts or threats of “We’ll fight someone else!” will make him change it. So there it is.
4) I’ve heard the same figures. But as of press time, I can’t say for sure. Sorry, man. Ask Steve. He’d know.
5) Floyd Mayweather Jr. is unlike any fighter Manny Pacquiao has faced, and vice versa. And that’s why it’s such a shame we didn’t get that fight Saturday night. As it is, the sport is in flames a bit, hoping Mayweather/Mosley puts it out. Imagine what the boxing world would look like had that fight happened. How huge we’d be right now. While I agree with the idea of new and better testing, I can’t help but hate that change had to come now. It could have waited a fight, couldn’t it?
Nothing’s easy and everything costs something.
MONTOYA’S WEEKEND FIGHT PICKS
At The Gaylord Hotel, Grapevine, TX
(FOX Sports) Samuel Peter (33-3) vs. Nagy Aguilera (15-2): Peter by SD
Actual Result: Peter win via TKO 2
(FOX Sports) Hernan Marquez (27-0) vs. Richie Mepranum (15-2-1): Marquez by UD
Actual Result: Mepranum win via UD 10
(Not televised) Omar Henry (7-0) vs. Francisco Reza (6-0): Henry by UD
Actual Result: Henry win via TKO 1
At Dallas Cowboys Stadium, Dallas, TX
(PPV) Manny Pacquiao (50-3-2) vs. Joshua Clottey (35-3): Pacquiao by UD
Actual Result: Pacquiao win via UD 12
(PPV) Humberto Soto (50-7-2) vs. David Diaz (35-2-1): Soto by late TKO on cuts
Actual Result: Soto win via UD 12
(PPV) Alfonso Gomez (21-4-2) vs. Jose Luis Castillo (60-9-1): Gomez by TKO
Actual Result: Gomez win via RTD 5
(PPV) John Duddy (28-1) vs. Michael Medina (23-1-2): Duddy by MD
Actual Result: Duddy win via SD 10
Max Schmeling Halle, Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin, Germany
Marco Huck (27-1) vs. Adam Richards (23-2): Huck by UD
Actual Result: Huck via KO 3
Yoan Pablo Hernandez (20-1) vs. Cesar Crenz (18-3): Hernandez by KO
Actual Result: Hernandez via UD 12
Alexander Povetkin (18-0) vs. Javier Mora (22-5): Povetkin by TKO
Actual Result: Povetkin via TKO 5
The Running Total:
Right: 63
Wrong: 8
Follow Gabriel at twitter.com/Gabriel_montoya or email him at maxgmontoya@gmail.com
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