Mendoza: Clottey came to dance, not fight Pacquiao

By Al S. Mendoza

I’M sorry.

I thought Joshua Clottey came to fight. But he didn’t.

He came to protect his 38-fight streak of not having been knocked out since he turned pro in 1995 as an 18-year-old.

For 12 rounds, his fists were practically useless, unused, you wonder why they were gloved at all.

For 12 rounds, all he did was dish out his infamous peekaboo defense.

For 12 rounds, he played deaf to the pleas of his trainer to throw punches.

That’s why Manny Pacquiao easily sped to a unanimous decision victory yesterday at the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

And my knockout prediction went pfft!

But was I glad Pacquiao (51-3-2, 35KOs) never got pissed off for having been duped by Clottey into believing they’d fight for Pacman’s WBO world welterweight crown.

Pacquiao played along, unleashing his patented blazing machinegun punches for a rare feat of sweeping all 12 rounds.

So embarrassing was Clottey’s non-fight stance that had referee Rafael Ramos declared the bout a no-contest, he would have been justified.

Doesn’t a fight contract stipulate that both fighters must trade punches the minute the bell rings?

Yesterday, only Pacquiao, 31, complied.

Yesterday, Clottey, 32, was in breach of agreement.

What we saw was not a bout but a man trying his damnest to force his foe to fight him.

Thus, I repeat, how can Pacquiao stop someone who came wearing dancing shoes instead of fighting shoes?

Shamelessly, Clottey (35-4, 21KOs) came not to his 39th fight but to collect his biggest paycheck ever, which was more than doubled by Jerry Jones from $1.2 million to $3 million as a bonus following a record-breaking crowd attendance of 51,000.

I salute Pacquiao, for he was mainly responsible for that huge crowd.

And, despite unloading a torrent of punches all fight long, Pacquiao never showed any sign of fatigue at any point during the one-hour, one-sided bout.

That’s because as always, as part of Pacquiao’s training discipline, he prepares by treating each fight as lasting 24 rounds.

So, Clottey could have danced all night in Texas and Pacquiao would not have minded.

Also, that he didn’t knock Clottey out was a given.

In ballroom dancing, boxing is a no-no.

Source: sunstar.com.ph