THE EDGE: Five Reasons Why Joshua Clottey Will Be Bad News For Manny Pacquiao

(Manny Pacquiao is the prohibitive favorite when he meets Joshua Clottey on March 13th at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas, Texas. But Clottey, a pro for nearly 15 years, presents a style matchup that might make things harder for Pacquiao than some people think. Here are a few reasons why.)

1. Size

Clottey, at 5’8 and with a 70” reach, is not the biggest fighter Pacquiao has faced–that distinction belongs to Oscar De La Hoya–but there is a serious caveat here: Clottey will be the biggest fighter Pacquiao has ever faced who can be considered at or near his prime. De La Hoya, 35 when he squared off with Pacquiao, looked like a city morgue resident when he answered the opening bell. In addition, Clottey has fought above the welterweight division several times and has the added bonus of not having to boil down to a catchweight for Pacquiao the way Miguel Cotto did.

2. Defense

Unlike Miguel Cotto, whose iffy defense forces him to endure vast amounts of punishment, Clottey maintains a tight guard and is as difficult to hit cleanly on the chops as a turtle wearing a hockey mask. Can Pacquiao break through often enough to wear Clottey down? If not, Clottey, a bigger, stronger welterweight, will still be relatively fresh–and dangerous–during the late rounds. Clottey is not the type of fighter that breaks down physically as the rounds go by. Whether he remains in the fight “mentally” by the late stages, however, is another question altogether.

3. Chin

In nearly 40 fights Clottey has been dropped only once, a fluky first round knockdown suffered at the hands of Miguel Cotto. Over the years, Clottey has taken shots from Antonio Margarito, Cotto, Zab Judah, Richard Gutierrez, and Carlos Baldomir without being seriously hurt or stopped. It seems unlikely that Pacquiao, as big a puncher as he is, will be able to flatten Clottey with one blow. Pacquiao, then, must count on pacing himself and preparing to go twelve hard rounds.

4. Roughhousing

Hangovers are practically guaranteed when Clottey steps into the ring–for his opponents, that is. Clottey is not above headbutting and chucking low blows chockablock, and he has already been disqualified once in his career, against Carlos Baldomir in 2000. Look for Clottey to try to rattle Pacquiao with some guerrilla tactics in the ring. This is an angle Pacquiao has probably not seen since his bout with ornery Agapito Sanchez nearly a decade ago. If Clottey is successful with some of his tricks, then Pacquiao is almost guaranteed to be cut at some point during the fight. And a steady stream of blood flowing into his eye will not make things any easier for the Filipino superstar.

5. The Left Hand

Clottey is primarily a left hook machine. He often doubles and triples up on his left, alternating between body and head, with precision. Occasionally the hooks arc into uppercuts, adding even more danger from portside. Clottey also posses a fine, if underutilized, jab and may ramp up its usage to keep Pacquiao occupied and to disrupt him from darting in and out with impunity. If Pacquiao moves consistently to his right in order to avoid the common southpaw weapon–right hands down the pipe–then he will be falling into the patch of the dangerous Clottey left. It remains to be seen whether Clottey, who has stopped only one opponent over the last five years, hits hard enough to drop Pacquiao, but it would be unwise to try and find out.