The Event: Pacquiao vs. Clottey
Finally, after months of speculations of who will Manny ‘Pacman’ Pacquiao will face on top of the ring, the Pacquiao vs. Clottey fight (dubbed as THE EVENT) is set for March 13, 2010 at the Cowboys Stadium (home field of the Dallas Cowboys) in Arlington, Texas.
Manny Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 KOs), the 7 division world champion and the reigning WBO welterweight champion will defend his title against Ghanaian Joshua Clottey (35-3, 21 KOs), the former IBF Welterweight champion.
The Ghanaian fighter captured the (vacant) IBF welterweight belt by beating three-time world champion Zab Judah on August 2, 2008. On June 13, 2009, Clottey lost via a controversial split decision (116-111, 115-112, 114-113) against the (former) WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto at the Madison Square Garden in New York. He is currently rated No. 1 by the World Boxing Organization (WBO) and No. 4 by the World Boxing Association (WBA).
During the press conference Tuesday, Pacquiao and Clottey were welcomed by Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones (and of course by the Dallar Girls), Jones presented Pacquiao and Clottey each with a Cowboy jersey, #3 for Manny and #13 for Clottey, yes that represents the date of the match.
The bout is expected to be biggest world title fights to be held in a major U.S. sports stadium since the Muhammad Ali – Ken Norton World Heavyweight Championship in Yankee Stadium in 1976. The Stadium will be configured to accommodate 40,000 spectators, ticket will be on sale starting January 23, 2010, 10AM Central Time.
Are you gonna be watching this live in Texas?
The story of the Pacquiao vs Clottey fight is going to be about whether Clottey’s pressure and counter punching can overcome Pacquiao’s foot speed and quick-handed, sharp-punching attacks. Trying to penetrate Clottey’s guard is like trying to get near one of Pacquiao’s veins with a needle—no easy task, even for someone with the speed and offensive capabilities of Pacquiao. Clottey is fighting for the title and not for the money. At the same time, Pacquiao is not going to be there for Clottey to hit either. Clottey will have his moments along the way. But being light on power, he won’t be able to do enough damage or land a high enough volume of punches to slow Pacquiao to the point of submitting to his pressure game.
where can I go to watch Pacquaio vs Clottey in Mactan or Lapu Lapu City or even Cebu on March 13th