Mendoza: Clottey’s pitch vs. Pacquiao? Nil and none
Saturday, March 13, 2010
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NINE years ago—on June 23, 2001—Manny Pacquiao, armed with his 32-2 win-loss record (24 knockouts), climbed the ring as a substitute to fight Lehlohonolo Ledwaba in Las Vegas.
Before the bout, Ledwaba, then 29 and the IBF world super bantamweight king, had raked in 25 straight wins from 1993 —including 14 KOs.
Going into the fight, Pacquiao, then 22, knocked out Thai Wethya Sakmuangklang in Kidapawan on April 28, 2001.
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Clearly, Pacquiao had crammed in training for the Ledwaba fight.
Still, he stunned the world by stopping the South African in the 6th.
It’s now Clottey’s turn to try to do a Pacquiao when he fights Pacman today (Sunday) in Arlington, Texas.
Clottey, who turns 33 on March 16, became Pacquiao’s 56th opponent, replacing Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Stung by Mayweather’s accusations that he used steroids to win seven world titles from the 112- to 147-lb divisions, Pacquiaoo killed his fight with Floyd that would have assured each of them no less than $30 million.
Next, he sued the Mayweathers for defamation; the case is now pending in a U.S. court.
Pacquiao is still assured of a windfall today (nearly $15M), and Clottey some $1.2M--the Ghanaian’s biggest ever.
But what really are Clottey’s chances of photocopying Pacquiao’s 2001 feat against Ledwaba?
Nil and none.
Nil, as in no single strand of hair left in the scalp of the late, lamented Kojak.
None, as in no rain at all for us, nada, because of the El Niño phenomenon.
In his last fight alone--the only one he had in 2009--Clottey bowed to Miguel Cotto.
Wasn’t Cotto the same man brutally battered by Pacquiao only last November en route to a 12th-round stoppage?
While Clottey had a mere 2-1 mark in 2008-2009, Pacquiao was 5-0 in that same stretch—4 by knockout, all scored against world-class boxers, with 4 titles at stake.
Pacquiao is 11-0 since his points loss to Erik Morales in 2005—8 by KO.
Pacquiao winning his 51st fight today is almost so obvious that the only thrill worth our senses is to guess what round Clottey would be knocked out.
Any topic other than that--like Clottey scoring an upset--is nothing but pure folly.
