Team RSR Fight Picks – Manny Pacquiao vs. Joshua Clottey
Compiled by Brian Wilbur
Manny Pacquiao is the best boxer in the world, holding the pound for pound crown with an iron fist. He is an active, fighting champion, set to step in the ring again this Saturday just four months after dispatching of Miguel Cotto. Four months may seem like a long time, but we live in an era where we are lucky if a championship level fighter fights twice in one year.
Pacquiao is not taking any easy routes either. He is set to take on top rated contender Joshua Clottey. Clottey has fought an excellent level of competition, including giving the likes of Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito very tough fights that went the distance. Clottey has never been stopped and is a former IBF Welterweight Champion.
Despite Clottey’s solid reputation as a world class boxer, he is considered a large underdog in this fight. Odds makers peg Joshua as approximately a 5 to 1 underdog. The reason has more to do with Pacquiao being an amazing talent in his prime rather than a knock on Clottey’s skill or merit. This Saturday night, we will find out if the odds makers were correct in making Pacquiao such a large favorite despite being the smaller man.
The team of writers at RSR offer their picks:
Mike “Rubber Warrior” Plunkett
I think very highly of Joshua Clottey as a fighter and former world champion, but I cannot get away from certain fleeting moments in his close loss last year with Miguel Cotto. There were points where he seemed to submit spiritually and I believe this cost him the win, whereas Cotto forged ahead. What will happen when Manny Pacquiao starts holding his owns and lands a telling combination? Will Clottey give ground or will he stand ground? And then there’s the whole issue with Clottey’s trainer. How can we expect him to be all he can be if he has for the most part trained himself – especially against the hungry, willing, active and apparently peaking pound per pound king today? Look for Manny Pacquiao to prevail, most likely by stoppage within six rounds.
“Bad” Brad Berkwitt
Pacquiao by a very hard fought decision. Somewhere in the 116-112 range.
Geno McGahee
The easy pick is Manny by UD, but I’m going with Joshua Clottey to shock the world and stop Pacquiao in the 8th round. Clottey looks fit and ready and is incredibly focused. He’s good with distance and is coming in knowing he is the bigger man and wants to defend his place in boxing. Clottey wins by TKO.
Gina Caliboso
I want to get my money’s worth so I’m sure Pacquiao will defeat Clottey by KO in the 9th or 10th round. Clottey may take 2 or 3 rounds, but since he has a tendency to kick in his attack later in the fight, it may be too late. Pacquiao’s speed and punching power will overwhelm Clottey. Prediction: Pacquiao by KO.
Jeff Stoyanoff
Clottey has always presented problems for his opponents and, to a certain degree, he should here as well. I look for Clottey to start fast behind his jab successfully backing Pacquiao up early on. However, once Pac gets his bearings, he will simply be too good and too fast. This should actually end up looking a little like the Cotto fight; an increasingly dominant Pacquiao by TKO in round 10 or 11.
Dan “Tex” Cohen
Clottey is a nice fighter that gave Cotto hell, but I have a feeling we were looking at a Cotto who was on the downside at that point. Granted, Pacquiao took a few rounds to figure out that same fighter, and Cotto fought courageously to beat Clottey that night, but I think we are looking at a drastic talent gap between these two fighters. Expect Pacquiao to bob, weave, and spike, stopping the bigger man over a very long stretch.
Joe Wilson
I see this fight being the toughest fight of Manny Pacquiao’s career. Manny Pacquiao has never went into a fight with the kind of pressure he will have going into this one. “What pressure?” First of all, the way he beat his last three opponents has raised expectations very HIGH for him! There are also the allegations of steroids use hanging over his head from passing on a mega fight with Floyd “Money” Mayweather JR., because of the type of drug test requested. The stage will be the biggest any fighter has ever fought on!
The first three rounds will be Pacquiao’s rounds since Clottey will be fighting from a shell. From three rounds on, this fight becomes a battle. Clottey will figure out Pacquiao just like he did Zab Judah. Clottey will start to counter punch and Pacquiao will not have the defense to stop him. Clottey’s size and strength will show going into the middle rounds of this fight! He will have Pacquiao fighting going backwards, and this will take its toll on Manny going down the stretch.
Joshua Clottey is going into this fight as the underdog. Very few have given him chance to win. He has very little pressure on him! This type of opponent can be very dangerous. Freddie Roach has already predicted Manny winning this fight by knockout! That brings more pressure on Manny. I wouldn’t bet money on this fight at all. It’s these kinds of fights that send crowds away stunned at the outcome!
Geoff “The Professor” Poundes
By all the laws of physics and biology this should be a tough one for the Pacman, but then that was true of the De La Hoya, Hatton and Cotto extravaganzas. Clottey is a bigger man than all of those (yes, even bigger than a boiled down ODLH), and he’s never been stopped – and for six or seven rounds he too dismantled Cotto before running out of ideas as the Puerto Rican ran skillfully from the fight. It’s just impossible to call against Manny these days, so I’ll take Manny to stop him between the 8th and 10th rounds (although every fiber of my being is screaming out: Pacquiao in a tough hard, split points verdict).
Eoin Redahan
Despite his durability, I see Clottey going the way of De La Hoya and Cotto. Pacquiao by eighth round stoppage.
Brian Wilbur
Clottey lets rounds go by because he does not let his hands go. That will cost him against Pacquiao, who throws many hard punches to make his case clear to the judges. Clottey is competitive but I can’t see him getting a decision win over Pacquiao unless he hurts Manny, and I don’t see that happening at all. Clottey couldn’t even knock out a bloated, shot Diego Corrales. Pacquiao by a comfortable decision, possibly a corner stoppage.
Friends of RSR
Vonzell Johnson (Former Light Heavyweight Contender)
Manny stops Clottey in eight rounds.
Jose Antonio Rivera (Former World Champion)
I think Manny wins by Unanimous decision. Clottey, is a tough veteran that can take a punch & knows how to survive.
If you are not getting the fight on PPV, stop by RSR the night of the fight to get a free round by round live report by our very own Geno McGahee.