First off I find Clottey severely underrated here. IMO, the guy would beat Margo in a rematch, he has better boxing skills than Margo and Margo can't knock him out. I believe he injured his hands in their fight. Though I scored Cotto-Clottey for Cotto by 1 round, I thought Clottey was the better fighter in their fight. This could be because Cotto was in constant retreat later in the fight but that could be put down to the cut. Possible upset? Clottey has a decent right hand. He throws it wildly, sometimes he even leans into it which is very handy against Pac, Pac tends to jump back and if Clottey leans into it he may just keep reaching Pac. This is also a guy who claims he can fight well against southpaws, watching the Judah fight, I thought he did quite well handling that stance. The main thing that concerns me in this fight, and why it may be an upset is because of Clottey's chin. Cotto was outboxing Pac for a little, until he tasted Pac's power, after that he wasnt the same, you cant handle the power your gameplan goes out the window. I dont think Clottey will be discouraged in such a way, given his reach advantage, his size advantage, the fact that Pac will be unable to change the course of the fight with 1 punch, we may see someone finally able to force their size on Pac effectively. Maybe not... Having said all that, Pac is stronger than Judah, hits more and from different angles. I can see the right hook of Pac being very effective, Clottey tends to guard the front of his head, leaving a bit of the side of his head open. Would not be surprised to see Clottey's ears completely swollen after the fight. The right hand to the body will also be effective against Clottey. I dont see Pac having much success shooting down the middle, its like going through a fortress there. I do however think that if pac angles his punches, he can get to the middle from underneath, not so much an uppercut but more like uppercut/straight combined. I think everyone already has this fight pictured in their head already. Pac rains combinations on Clottey's guard with Clottey blocking half of them, half getting through, Pac jumps out the way, Clottey counters, pac is not there, misses his punches and repeat. I dont think it will be that easy, I think Clottey will attempt some counters when pac is throwing punches and when Pac does finish his attack and backs up, expect Clottey to reach Pac and land some of his own sending many Pac fans hearts racing. It will be a fun competetive fight whilst it lasts, I think Clottey wins 2-3 rounds before being stopped in the 10th after heavy accumulation. Clottey has never been stopped before, and he has faced some big punchers in Judah, Margo, Cotto, Corrales(although were not sure how much of a puncher he was at 147), stopping him would be a good achievement for Pac. A top 5 WW in a very stacked division fighting at the WW limit, if Pac beats him up, he once again proves he's on a level above these very good WW's. I'm gonna put some money down on Pac TKO 10. I won some good money on Pac-Hatton inside 3 rounds. Was 1 round off calling Pac-DLH because DLH quit in the 8th, I put bet on TKO 9-12 and was 1 round off in Pac-Cotto, I did Pac KO 9-11 and Cotto was stopped in 12th. Hopefully, If I call this one right, I should have £400 extra to spend. That may just about pay for a flight to the US for a fall showdown between Pac-Mayweather! Soto vs Diaz I'm actually quite excited about this fight. I think Diaz gives Soto a game fight, would not be the least bit surprised if Diaz upsets him. Diaz has the size advantage and Soto is not all that elusive, this could be a war. I think Soto wins a hard fought decision boxing him from the outside and landing the cleaner punches, 8-4.
No mention of Clottey's mentality, which will cost him this fight the same way it has made him come up short in almost every big fight in his career. Not to mention that its very apparent his going into this fight not even hungry to win. How is a not hungry fighter who is well-skilled and talented but routinely doesn't perform up to his potential supposed to beat one of the best of the decade? It ain't happenin.
I pretty much agree with everything you said there. When this fight was first made I was a bit worried as a pacfan since Clottey is such a high risk low reward opponent and no one looks good against him. However as the fight's gotten closer and the more videos I've seen my confidence in Pac has gone up to the point where I now think it'll be a fairly easy night's work for him. Clottey just doesn't impress me much. **** it, I'm going for a late stoppage for the Pacman too. He'll be the first to stop the grandmaster. Pac' angles and footwork will be a nightmare for Clottey. I still haven't watched that much video footage of Clottey before making this half-assed, rushed prediction so I could be wrong here but there you are. I'm gonna go for a 9th round TKO.
Fair assessment. I obviously disagree, but what you predict is not out of the realm of possibility. I personally think Clottey will be more effective with counters, and he will be able to do it mid-combo. Pac will not be able to work on the body, because if he tries, it will leave him in the pocket longer than he would like. He will take some incoming if that happens. Clottey will take whatever Pac dishes out, and will catch him comin in. He has really good timing, and along with a good jab will negate any speed advantage, at least somewhat. Clottey will hurt him early and begin to walk him down. KO8. As far as Clottey's mentality. He made the mistake of being naive to the point that he thought he could get a fair decision against Cotto in MSG. How dumb.atsch
First off, I think he genuinely injured his hands against Margo, dont think that was a mentality thing. Against Cotto he had the wrong gameplan, he thought he had the fight bagged and as he said, he was the one chasing Cotto. He performed in the Judah fight, that was a big oppotunity for him, he also performed well in the Corrales fight, again another big opportunity for him. Given that Clottey is so happy to get this fight because he fighting the best, a chance for him to be the best, this is like winning the lottery, bigger than winning the lottery. I think Clottey is hungry, he see's the opportunity in front of him and he will try get it. I dont see how it is apparent that he is going into this fight not hungry to win...I read the opposite from how he's come off. This is his big chance to make ammends.
pac is gonna punish him all nigh the will go around his clam shell defense like Pwill did to winky! I really cannot see anyway Clottey wins because his style is perfect for Manny. The only way for Manny to lose this fight is to be over confident and get caught.
I don't profess to an infallible, invincible tip-artist, but I'll say again what I've been saying all along - Clottey wins one or two rounds en route to an 11th round TKO defeat. He may win that round or two big, possibly even with a flash KD, but ultimately he will be burned for speed, broken down with accumulation, and saved by the referee. Joshua is an admirable fighter - tough, strong and talented with a big heart. Unfortunately for him, he is in there with a force of nature, a once-in-a-generation fighter, an ever-improving elite ATG. And so it will go.
I have Clottey by K.O. in the 10th or 11th. I foresee Pac attacking relentlessly but not actually landing that many blows through Clottey's guard. Clottey will start to land that right hand counter of his as Pac comes in aggresively and drops Pac late, after Clottey himself probably gets dropped by Pac early but rebounds and sticks to his game plan. I think Pac's camp is overconfident and havn't trained for a big strong fighter, but have chosen to spar with slick boxers instead.
I think this will be over faster than people think.Pac will be looking to make a statement and i think Clottey is made for him.I think Pac inside 5 rounds.
Holla. Clottey does not have the mentality of the champion. He doesn't throw punches to win vs the best. Why? Because to be aggressive like that to the extent it takes to win at the very top level is outside his comfort zone. And a fighter not willing to go outside his comfort zone to win does not win my respect no matter how talented or skilled. He has the tank of a body and chin to withstand a bomb going off.. and uses that to coast, while putting on a show like hes trying. What pisses me off is he has the physical skills to do so much greater.
