The Pacquiao vs. Clottey bout is all set to go for tomorrow, Saturday, March 13. Before the fight happens though, the two fighters have to meet each other on the scales. The weigh-in results for this bout are interesting because Pacquiao is still a small man for their welterweight division, while Clottey is huge for 147 lbs. Even when he cuts down to that weight, you can be sure his fight night weight will be substantially higher, so it’s intriguing to see not just what he weighs in as, but also what he comes in as on the night itself.

Pacquiao vs. Clottey Weigh In Results

Here are the weigh-in results for the two fighters:

Manny Pacquiao – 145.75

Joshua Clottey - 147

Looking Behind the Pacquiao vs. Clottey Weigh In Numbers

Both fighters looked ripped and focused as they got on the scales to weigh in for tomorrow’s big fight. Manny’s supposed one-inch height disadvantage looked more like three inches when they faced off, and Clottey looked to be significantly bigger. Stay tuned as tomorrow we will have round-by round scoring and coverage from Cowboys Stadium.

Now it’s time to go for the fight itself. ProBoxing-Fans.com will offer a full Pacquiao vs. Clottey round by round results blog, so be sure to tune in tomorrow night to see live Pacquiao vs. Clottey results and full fight coverage and analysis!

The Pacquiao vs. Clottey bout is all set for March 13, 2010.  Held in the massive, sparkling new Dallas Cowboys Stadium, the bout represents another chance for Pacquiao to solidify his standing in the welterweight division. Clottey represents a real challenge because of his size, strength and stamina. If Pacquiao wins and wins dominantly, of course talks for Pacquiao vs. Mayweather will be refueled. Will Clottey be able to weather the storm? Will Pacquiao’s power make a dent in Clottey’s chin? We’ll provide detailed coverage of all of those questions and more right here on ProBoxing-Fans.com.

Before the fight begins you can also check out our full Pacquiao vs. Clottey Preview and Prediction. Then check back in on March 13th for full Pacquiao vs. Clottey fight card coverage, including our live Pacquiao vs. Clottey results blog.

Pacquiao vs. Clottey Round by Round Results & Scorecard

Fight Status: Scheduled for March 13, 2010. PPV airs at 9 pm eastern, estimated start time 11 pm eastern.

In front of a crowd of 50.994, the Ghanaian, Filipino, and U.S. National anthems were sung, and Joshua Clottey is coming into the ring now. The ring walk is long. He’s in the ring. Now here comes Manny Pacquiao! The crowd is going nuts. To the strains of AC/DC’s Thunderstruck, Manny is coming into the ring. Now Eye of the Tiger is playing! Manny joyfully makes his way to the ring. Introductions are being made. The referee is Rafael Ramos.

Rd 1: Clottey’s hands are high and his guard is tight, and Manny goes to the body and around the guard with fast shots. Nothing telling really landed but Manny gets the round for being more active.10-9 Pacquiao

Rd 2: Clottey marching forward with the guard up, lashing out with the occasional punch, while Manny is peppering him with light, but fast punches. Manny starting to get through with a few decent head shots at the end of the round. 10-9 Pacquiao.

Rd 3: Manny more voluminous in his punching, but Clottey is effective with his punches, landing telling shots on Pac and landing at a high percentage. It’s just that Pac is doing so much more work. Action picks up in this round. 10-9 Pacquiao.

Rd. 4: Manny is moving well and Clottey is not throwing very much. Manny is winning rounds with his speed and movement.

Rd. 5: Pacman is wary of Clottey’s power as the Ghanaian lashes out with occasional power punches that land.

Rd. 6: Pac gets hit when Clottey commits, but he doesn’t throw enough. It appears Clottey would rather lose without getting destroyed than risk getting hurt and trying to win.

Rd. 7 Clottey, while gallant, is unable to provide the workload that would trouble Pacquiao.

Rd. 8: Pacman is far more active, hitting Clottey to the body over and over and getting behind and around Clottey’s high guard.

Rd. 9: Clottey remains dangerous throughout and Pacman is getting hit more than normal, but Clottey isn’t winning rounds.

Rd. 10: At times, Clottey looks rattled, but is minimizing the damage he takes by not taking any risks himself. By not opening up, he is trying not to incur the full wrath of Pacquiao, but is also not giving himself a chance to win.

Rd. 11: Another big round for Pac. Clottey is remaining dangerous, just enough to keep Pacman on his best behavior. Another round for Pacquiao.

Rd. 12: Another Pac round. Clottey is resilient, but not necessarily the warrior he should have been. He seemed to trouble Pac with his punches, but his punch output was so low, he could never sufficiently trouble Pacman. Almost every round looked the same.

Manny Pacquiao wins by unanimous decision.

Pacquiao vs. Clottey Undercard Fight Analysis

Alfonso Gomez vs. Jose Luis Castillo:

Rd. 1: Slow round. Gomez slightly more active at the end of the round. 10-9 Gomez.

Rd :2: Gomez throwing some combinations at the beginning of the round. Action slowed at the end with Castillo landing a few shots. 10-9 Gomez

Rd 3: Slow round. Both guys failing to gain any foothold. Gomez slightly more active. 10-9 Gomez.

Rd. 4: Slow action picks up a bit (standards are low at this point) at the end of the round. Castillo looking well worn, a shadow of his former self. Gomez not setting the world on fire, but doing the slightly better work. 10-9 Gomez.

Rd. 5: Castillo not getting untracked. Gomez being a little shifty, landing a few decent single shots. Gomez getting to Castillo more in this round. 10- 9 Gomez. Score: 50-45 Gomez.

At the end of 5 relatively tame rounds, Castillo’s corner runs up the white flag at the end of the 5th round. Result: Alfonso Gomez by 5th round TKO.

Humberto Soto vs. David Diaz, Vacant WBC Lightweight TItle

Rd. 1: Crowd starting to fill up at Cowboys Stadium. A nice atmosphere in developing with a huge crowd in a shimmering setting. Lawrence Cole is the referee (fingers crossed). After the drab Gomez-Castillo fight, fans are eager for a good fight, and Soto-Diaz figures to deliver. A head butt occurs after about 1:30 and Soto looks troubled by it.  Diaz is cut. Soto surprises Diaz with a left hook and down goes Diaz. He is up and looks in decent shape. 10-8 Soto.

Rd. 2: Soto showing a little movement in this fight, as Diaz cautiously moves forward. Southpaw Diaz is eager, but Soto a bit sharper, getting the better of it as Diaz comes in. Diaz bleeding over the right eye. 10-9 Soto.

Rd. 3: Diaz comes in and Soto just hits him with the better stuff. Soto being patient, waiting for Diaz to open up. Soto keeping fight in the center of the ring and controlling distance. Diaz a little more effective at the end of the round, which is encouraging. 10-9 Soto.

Rd. 4: Slow round. Soto lands a few straight shots. Diaz lands a couple nice hooks at the end of the round. Nice exchange at the end of the round as both men land. 10-9 Diaz.

Rd. 5: Diaz looking a bit more purposeful and Soto looks a little flat in spots. Overall, not great action. Soto superior when he opens up. Diaz and Soto both do decent work in spots. Good exchange at the bell. 10-10 round.

Rd. 6: Both men only effective in spots and Soto doing the slightly sharper work. Action picks up at the end and let’s hope it is the sign of things to come because these prelim fights are beginning to wear on everyone’s nerves. 10-9 Soto.

Rd. 7: Soto throwing with more purpose, but only slightly more effective. Still doing enough to keep his nose ahead, but hardly inspiring. Frankly, on such a big stage, I would have hoped for a better effort thus far from both men. 10-9 Soto.

Rd. 8: Dull round. Nothing much to distinguish either guy. I’ll give Diaz a round for better effort. 10-9 Diaz.

Rd. 9: Diaz dogged in his attack. Soto sharper, but Diaz beginning to win some exchanges with better energy. Soto a little flat still. 10-9 Diaz.

Rd. 10: Soto not looking good as he goes down from a slip. He looks dispirited and tired. And Diaz, while not looking that great, is doing enough to get the job done. Soto a little more effective at the end of the round maybe edges it. 10-9 Soto.

Rd. 11: Very dull round with Diaz more aggressive. Soto looks gassed and is unable to get much offense going. 10-9 Diaz.

Rd. 12: Both men slightly more active with the light at the end of the tunnel now visible. Diaz showing a lot of heart, while Soto trying his hardest to put the final round in the bag. Soto gets in some good shots and at the end, catches Diaz and puts him down for a flash knockdown right at the end of the round. 10-8 Soto. ProBoxing-Fans.com had it 116-111 Soto.

The judges have it for Humberto Soto by unanimous decision and he is the new WBC Champion!

Photo Credit: Frederick Manligas Nacino / Creative Commons 3.0 License

Thanks for tuning in for our Pacquiao vs. Clottey round by round live blog and results. We hope you enjoyed the coverage and all of the other features, articles, interviews and more provided by ProBoxing-Fans.com.

If cocaine was never created, you can be sure a lot of things in boxing, especially in the 80’s, would have been different. On one hand, if the drug didn’t exist, many boxers would have found other vices to complicate their lives and careers. It’s not like cocaine diverted the attention of people who would have otherwise been working with blind kids during their off time.

At the same time, boxers were long able to juggle their vices with their careers until cocaine use became rampant. Boxers drank, smoked, gambled, cavorted, and god knows what else, but still managed to keep their careers afloat. Not too many fighters, however, have been able to stay near the top of their game for too long with a cocaine problem. It gets them all in the end.

In the 70’s, cocaine had a more benign, fun-loving vibe. Looking back, you might picture a scene out of Studio 54, people having a festive time in a consequence-free environment. It got ugly quick in the 80’s. When you think of cocaine in the 80’s, you’re more inclined to picture the advent and proliferation of crack—featuring urban-blight and destroyed lives. Boxing was a microcosm of this transformation.

So how would the history of boxing in the 80’s and into the 90’s be different?

The Heavyweight Division:

Looking back, one might say the omnipresence of cocaine in the 80’s was a bigger asset to champion Larry Holmes than his jab. One promising contender after the next pulled the rug from under his own career by getting mixed up in the devil’s dandruff.

Leon Spinks: Leon didn’t go from Heavyweight Champion to one of the worst heavyweights in the world for no reason. Was he a flash in the pan? Maybe, but his frenzied lifestyle didn’t help. If he stayed straight, (assuming he ever was) he could have won the Ali rematch and maybe given Holmes a better challenge.

Michael Dokes: Already deep into coke by the time he reached the world-class level; he is one of the great what-ifs in boxing history. One of the fastest heavyweights of his era, Dokes blew it all over cocaine. Once got out of a cocaine distribution charge after being caught with a kilo of the drug when his lawyer successfully argued, “Michael Dokes buys cocaine the way you and I buy potatoes.” Seeing a ravaged and over-the-hill Dokes give a young Holyfield hell before losing makes you really wonder what could have been.

Pinklon Thomas: The prodigiously gifted Thomas had long been a drug abuser, so perhaps his descent was more predictable for those close to him. With a world-class jab, Thomas was at one time being seriously touted as Holmes’ heir-apparent. Late nights and self-abuse soon robbed him of all his resolve, taking him from a world champion to a trialhorse in a few years time.

Gerry Cooney: For all the flack he catches, he still managed to give a dead-prime Larry Holmes a very difficult night in 1982. At 25, he conceivably could have rebuilt. With that sledgehammer left hook of his, a serious-minded Cooney could have remained a factor for years. He could have received a rematch with Holmes, been a more serious challenge to Michael Spinks, or even got in on the Mike Tyson sweepstakes.

Tony Tubbs: Could box like the dickens when he was right. Tubbs was a fantastic fighter with speed, power, and agility. While he would show flashes of his best form for a long time, a debilitating coke habit that still plagues him today sabotaged his career. He was only a fraction of what he could have been.

John Tate: Maybe Mike Weaver, who came from way off the pace to starch Tate in the 15th round of their title fight, created a blueprint on how to beat Tate that would have made it difficult for him to rebuild. However, a young Tate should have conceivably been able to come back strongly after that setback. With great physical gifts and a good amateur pedigree, Tate could have secured a number of big-money fights in the 80’s if his drug problem didn’t get the better of him.

Oliver McCall (90’s): One of the most naturally durable heavyweights of all time with one-punch KO power. The difference in McCall’s performance from his first fight with Lennox Lewis to his second fight with him shows the deteriorating affects the drug had on his career. But still, even in the midst of a total breakdown, he was still somehow able to eat all of Lennox’s shots. If he was able to conquer his demons, he could have been a fixture in the heavyweight scene for years to come. He would have probably got a shot at a comebacking Tyson for millions. Who knows, instead of Lamon Brewster knocking out Wladmir Klitschko, maybe McCall would have been in that spot. We’ll never know.

Let’s take a look at other fighters whose cocaine use changed the boxing landscape. A division-by-division breakdown, while easier to do with heavyweights, would be too speculative for the lower weight classes, so let’s just do an individual analysis on these fighters.

Esteban DeJesus: The first man to defeat Roberto Duran had a Hall of Fame career. His skills were compromised by his heavy drug use, which began in the 70’s and eventually led to his death. Was only 28 when the 80’s began and he could have continued on as a factor in the junior welterweight division. A better-preserved DeJesus could have been very competitive against Benitez or Pryor. Instead, he was washed up by his mid-twenties. Could his drug use have prevented him from being an undisputed all-time great? It’s very possible that it did.

Sugar Ray Leonard: Took up the drug during his early forced retirement due to a detached retina. It’s difficult to say his drug use really hampered his career. After all, he still managed to accomplish an awful lot. Perhaps a straight-and-narrow Leonard, however, would have made his comeback sooner. Maybe he would have been in a better state of mind for the Kevin Howard comeback fight, a bout where Leonard was dropped causing him to retire again immediately after the bout. Without his cocaine problem, maybe we get Leonard-Hagler a few years earlier and perhaps his career trajectory takes a significantly different course.

Aaron Pryor: One of cocaine’s worst casualties in sports history. Went from one of the top fighters in the game to a stumbling bum in a few short years. While it’s possible that Pryor’s drug use came at the end of his string of dominance, it’s probable that he missed out on a few big fights because of this. A fight with Leonard could have been made, but never came off. He could have moved into the resurgent welterweight scene of the mid 80’s. No one would have minded what for sure would have been a barnburner with a young Donald Curry. None of it ever happened. Instead we saw a coke-decimated Pryor get throttled by unexceptional fringe contender Bobby Joe Young.

Alexis Arguello: It’s a stretch to say the drug did that much damage to Arguello’s career. Nevertheless, he could have ended his career far more gracefully if not for his cocaine issue. With the demise of Pryor, a straight and dedicated Arguello could have taken over at 140 lbs for a while at least. The post-Pryor era was relatively mediocre and a better-preserved Arguello would have been right in the mix. Maybe he could have secured another big win or two. More importantly, maybe he would have been spared some of the psychological damage that caused him to eventually take his own life.

Wilfred Benitez: Another fighter who at least managed to have a very productive prime before falling prey to cocaine. By the time he got in the ring with Mustafa Hamsho, Benitez was burning the candle at both ends. To see a fighter who recently beat Duran and lose to a prime Tommy Hearns by a small margin struggle so mightily with the crude Hamsho shows how far he had fallen. His form in 1982 was still solid, but by 1983, he was a shell while still in his mid-twenties. It’s not that difficult to imagine a dedicated Benitez getting a lot more work done—a rematch with Duran or an intriguing challenge of Marvin Hagler.

Hector Camacho: A great talent. Probably did enough to get in the Hall of Fame (if he ever retires), but really had the talent to be an all-time great, a status he fell short of. By the late-80’s he seemed more interested in partying than fighting. At a time when he should have been kicking his career into the next gear, he lapsed into a schedule of one fight per year, and fell off the boxing radar to a large degree. There’s no reason to think he couldn’t have figured prominently in the circles of Meldrick Taylor, Pernell Whitaker, Julio Cesar Chavez, and others had he kept his head screwed on right. Instead, he was reduced to opponent status, becoming one of the great “what-ifs” of the era.

Edwin Rosario: Cocaine rendered him a shell of his former self by the time he was 26. Still had a lot of fight in him, as evidenced by the occasional power surges he continued to show after falling prey to the drug. While he might never have been a great fighter and the Chavez fight did take an awful lot out of him, Rosario robbed himself of the chance to extract a little more glory out of his career.

Frankie Randall: Watching the even-older Randall beat an aging Chavez made some observers wonder what could have been. Randall was poised to become a top lightweight in the mid-80’s before falling prey to cocaine. He cleaned himself up enough to make a nice run in the mid-90’s, but he really threw away his best years. Within a few years of beating Chavez, Randall was finished as a top fighter. There was more he could have done. Imagine a clean and dedicated Randall in the 80’s when 135-140 had a ton of great fighters. He might have won some, lost some, but he certainly would have a better resume if he stayed on the straight and narrow. It’s not too difficult to imagine him beating the likes of Bramble, Rosario, Mayweather, and others had he kept himself straight.

Rocky Lockridge: Maybe cocaine didn’t hurt his career as much as the others. He was never that great to begin with, but still managed to build quite a resume at junior lightweight. It did hurt his longevity, however. At a time when he could have put his career into overdrive, it stalled out. He seemed strangely impotent in the Tony Lopez fights and it’s difficult to say his lifestyle didn’t play a role in that. After all, he lost to Chavez by only a majority decision and had since won a title and was putting together some nice defenses before suddenly bottoming out. Perhaps he could have made a little more money and at least managed to stay off the streets, where a now-homeless Lockridge resides.

Michael Nunn: A fighter who was this close to being great. After upsetting Frank Tate for a title he put together a nice string of defenses that had the boxing world excited. His one-punch KO over Sumbu Kalambay made him a hot property. Then he suddenly lost momentum with ho-hum defenses over Iran Barkley, a majority decision over a much smaller Marlon Starling, and a disappointing win over a shot Donald Curry. By the time James Toney relieved him of his laurels, he appeared to have lost his way completely. We now know why. Without cocaine in his life, he would have at least been able to rebuild after the Toney fight, something he was unable to do. Went on sputtering for several more years, finally ending up in prison where he is now serving a long sentence.

Johnny Tapia: The man had very real demons. He did manage to conquer them for long enough to compile a borderline Hall of Fame career. For those who remember his form before cocaine got the better of him when he was a young rising contender, it’s difficult to say the drug didn’t mess up his career in a big way. Right when he was coming into his own, was forced into a sabbatical for several years to deal with an awful cocaine habit, setting his career back at least three years. When one reflects on the latter part of his career where he struggled, try to imagine Tapia in those fights 3 years earlier and with a lot less mileage on his body. Did he have a very good career? Yes. Could he have done better? Sure. Either way, it would at least be nice to see him live out his retirement years free of the torment that plagued him as a young man. That’s if he ever retires.

Pernell Whitaker: By the time cocaine got a hold of “Sweet Pea,” he had already put together a HOF resume. So maybe it didn’t change an awful lot. But watching him give Oscar De La Hoya fits in a losing effort and lasting 12 rounds with a dead-prime Felix Trinidad solely off his guile, maybe he could have done a bit more. A clean Whitaker would have been a lot more difficult for Trinidad to beat. He could have at least rebounded and played a role in the welterweight division after De La Hoya and Trinidad moved up. It’s not too hard to imagine the masterful “Sweet Pea” faring well in the circles of Corey Spinks, Carlos Baldomir, and Zab Judah even in his late thirties. As it is, he still has a heck of a career.

Conclusion: The 1980’s were one of the greatest decades in boxing history. One would be hard pressed to say cocaine use sabotaged the decade since it was so good. However, many of the standouts from that time could have actually done a lot more. The brutal nature of the sport, combined with copious amounts of self-abuse taking place at the time made this era one of the more tragic in recent memory.

Obviously, the boxing world was hoping to see Pacquiao face Floyd Mayweather, but this is at least a reasonable replacement. Clottey is a top welterweight and a tough out for any fighter at this weight. Having the bout take place in a football stadium adds a little something extra to this fight. It will be nice to see the sport take center stage in a U.S. city other than Las Vegas, NYC, or Atlantic City. The stadium setting allows fans to hearken back to a time when boxing was big enough to pack the biggest stadiums in the country. It will be a big event.

Pacquiao vs. Clottey Preview

Manny is a sizable favorite in this bout and for good reason. His entrance into the welterweight ranks has seen him pick apart his opponents. De La Hoya and Cotto never looked to be winners in their fights with Pacquiao. Many are not surprised that Manny has been able to succeed at welterweight, but it’s safe to say the manner in which he has blitzed through his competition has left fans slack-jawed in admiration of this great little warrior from General Santos City.

Pacquiao and Clottey are what you would call young veterans. 2010 marks the 16th year of both men’s professional careers. Pacquiao and Clottey are only 31 and 32, respectively. In other words, they know what they’re doing and still have plenty of youth to do something about it.

There is no secret what Pacquiao brings to the table at this point. A super-fast and concussive puncher, Manny has added a few new wrinkles to his game since coming up in weight. He moves beautifully, rarely leaving himself in a vulnerable spot for too long. He has improved his right hand to the point where it is a formidable weapon in its own right. Perhaps even more impressive is his advanced vision of what happens in the ring. It has been enough to make him the best fighter in the sport.

Manny Pacquiao vs Joshua Clottey Boxing Tickets March 13 2010 Buy Manny Pacquiao vs Joshua Clottey Boxing Tickets at Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Arlington TX on March 13

What can Clottey bring to the table to counteract this?

Size: Clottey, while only about 2 inches taller than Pacquiao, is a bigger man. He always seemed to be a welterweight a little on the big side. He has been fighting in the 140’s ever since he turned pro. He looked bigger than Cotto when he fought him. When Pacquiao was still fighting at flyweight, Clottey was already a welterweight.

Durability: Clottey’s bread and butter. 15 years in the game, and I’ve never seen him in danger of being stopped. Usually, top fighters with such a long career behind them have showed a time or two when they were on the verge of being stopped. Clottey, however, has been able to survive his bouts with such offensively explosive fighters as Antonio Margarito, Zab Judah, and Cotto without ever being seriously hurt. He is a rare case—a hard nut to crack.

Defense: Clottey is not an easy guy to land clean shots on when he goes into a defensive posture. He can hide behind his arms and gloves well and knows how to ride out the storm. Manny’s recent opponents have been easy to find. Perhaps, Clottey has the right mix of defense and durability to give Pacquiao a difficult night.

Bad Signs for Clottey

Power: Clottey looks like a power puncher and sometimes throws punches that would lead one to fancy him a hard hitter in the ring. It is therefore a bit surprising to reflect on the fact that he has scored only one KO since 2004, spanning 11 fights. Those are bad numbers for those banking on Clottey’s strength to win the day.

Work Rate: There have been times when Clottey doesn’t move his hands enough. With dwindling power numbers, Clottey will have to escalate this part of his game to stand a chance with Pacquiao. Sometimes, it appears that Clottey is either on the offensive or the defensive. He will have to be able to do both at the same time if he hopes to threaten the pound-for-pound number-one guy in the game.

Ring IQ: Not to question the man’s ring smarts, but there have been times when his strategic outlook hurt him more than anything his opponent was doing. In the Cotto fight, it appeared Clottey was gaining a strong foothold in the middle rounds. He was troubling Cotto greatly. As the bout went into its final few rounds, Clottey inexplicably took his foot off the gas and let Cotto sweep the final stanzas to earn a controversial, but well-deserved split decision. One can never tell exactly what is going on in the mind and body of a fighter in a demanding fight, but it seemed Clottey had enough in the tank to close the show, but he didn’t do it for some reason.

The “Book” on Clottey

He is a very good fighter, but he is not great. There’s a little something extra that separates the very good from the great and Clottey has not showed it yet. The greats find a way to win, especially when they are in imminently winnable situations. Clottey has not yet answered the call for greatness. He was ahead against Margarito before hand problems rendered his offense non-existent. Then against Cotto, he again found himself in a fight he could win, and at the end of the day, he didn’t get it done.

Intangibles

Will Manny suffer a letdown? After being so close to fighting Mayweather, is there a chance for Manny to let his focus slip a bit here? Will he be overlooking Clottey as if this is just a stay-busy fight? Can Clottey find that something extra? Knowing that he isn’t getting any younger, will the severity of the situation give way to a renewed spirit? Fighters can sometimes rise to the occasion when their careers are on the line. Clottey surely knows that he is not likely to receive any further opportunities like this one. The now or never scenario might just light a fire under him.

Pacquiao vs. Clottey Prediction

There is almost nothing in Manny Pacquiao’s career to suggest he will be anything but peak for this mega event at Cowboys Stadium. There is still work for him to do in the sport. He wants to leave an indelible stamp of greatness on the sport. He has a vision of what he wants to accomplish. It seems almost inconceivable that he would somehow phone this one in, being on the cusp of not only fighting Floyd Mayweather, but also being so close to establishing an all-time great legacy worthy of being in the top pantheon of all-time greats.

Clottey is not going to go quietly and meekly, however. I think Manny’s speed and movement will give him an incredibly difficult evening. I see Clottey able to get some bodywork done and drive home a series of meaningful shots on Pacquiao in the form of uppercuts and straight rights. Clottey will be pumped up. He will feel a greater urge to let his hands go to curtail the fury of the Filipino juggernaut.

At some point in the middle rounds, Clottey will begin to incrementally lapse into a more defensive posture. He will remain dangerous and continue lashing out with enough menacing punches to keep Manny honest. As the late rounds approach, the only suspense remaining will not be whether Clottey can pull out the win, but whether or not he can last the full route.

A late stoppage is not an unlikely result. The feeling here is that Clottey’s grit, chin, and defense will be enough to see him through to the final bell. In a dominating performance, Pacquiao will win 10-11 rounds for a resounding decision victory.

Prediction: Manny Pacquiao by unanimous decision.

Abraham, 29, leads the tournament in the point system, the only fighter to score a knockout in the initial stage, as he pounded Jermain Taylor for a 12th round KO. Dirrell, 26, is tied for last place, having lost his first-round bout to Carl Froch via very controversial decision. As is usually the case in the fight game, there is a lot behind these numbers and facts.

Abraham, 31-0 (25 KOs), looked great in beating Jermain Taylor in his second fight at super middleweight, his other fight being a non-title win over Edison Miranda. Taylor is not the force of old; so beating him does not carry the same weight as it might have a few years ago. Taylor had been knocked out twice in vicious fashion, and once in his most recent bout. But let’s not be too hasty in undermining Abraham’s win here. The version of Taylor that graced the ring that night in Berlin was a somewhat reasonable facsimile of a prime Taylor. He fought well, but could not deal with the strength, ability, focus, and punching power of the Germany-based Armenian juggernaut.

Andre Dirrell, 18-1 (13 KOs), is in one of those situations that often sprout up in the fight game where a fighter has enhanced his reputation by losing a fight. In his first-round fight in Froch’s hometown of Nottingham, Dirrell showed the promise many believed he always had by thwarting the attacks of Froch for most of the night while boxing with distinction. Froch was dogged in his pursuit of the fleet-footed upstart and the judges awarded him a split decision that many found puzzling.

The decision sparked a debate among those who felt Froch’s aggression was not effective and those who felt Dirrell ran too much to take a title from a champion. There is something to be said for both sides of the debate. Froch was the one who gave the appearance of the guy in the ring who wanted to fight.

This observer, however, didn’t see Froch land an abundance of clean punches to make his aggression effective enough to win. At the same time, Dirrell made it hard on himself. There were times where he was in full flight during his retreats from Froch, almost running away from his pursuer. This was disappointing to see, especially in light of how superbly Dirrell was boxing. He didn’t need to run. He could have been a bit more economical in his movements, and not given the impression to the judges that he was scared crazy of the hard-charging local fighter.

He constantly complained to the referee and just had a whiny countenance about him during the whole fight. While Dirrell’s skills were enough to win, his lack of professionalism is what eventually cost him. You cannot expect to go to a local fighter’s hometown and win by running that much and complaining incessantly. Dirrell boxed well, but his vision of the fight and the situation at hand needs further development.

Abraham vs. Dirrell Preview

Abraham is the favorite and rightly so. Since winning the IBF Middleweight Title in 2005, he has largely had his way, except for a viciously contested 2006 bout with then-undefeated Edison Miranda. Dirrell, a 2004 Olympic Bronze Medalist, had a slow rise to the top of the division. His bout with Froch was his first against a legitimate world-class foe.

There is no mystery about what these fighters will be trying to do come March 6. Dirrell will be boxing and moving, using his advantages of 4 inches in height and 3 inches in reach, while Abraham will be applying pressure trying to hammer home some of his power shots. It’s a typical clash of styles. What isn’t typical, however, is the excellence in which these fighters ply their trade.

Credit: Howard Schatz

Dirrell might improve for this fight. One is almost compelled to give him a pass for being so negative in the Froch fight. Fighting against a wildly popular champion in front of his rabid hometown fans is a baptism by fire that most young fighters would cave under. Dirrell did not. He showed he belongs amongst the elite at 168.

Could these two be each others most difficult opponents thus far in each of their careers? Perhaps. Abraham is aggressive and hard-hitting like Froch, but attacks with more refinement and skill than the crude Englishman. And no one on Abraham’s record had the ability to employ the kind of high-level boxing and moving style that Dirrell brings to the table.

The more one watches Abraham, the more he shows. Upon first glance, he appears to be an aggressive puncher. Keep watching. Notice the cleverness in his pursuit, the economy of his movements, and how he moves his feet. To call him a crude banger is not taking into account the full scope of his abilities. There’s a certain subtlety lying underneath his slugging style. But it’s what he has on the inside that could potentially give way to a legendary career—his unshakable self-belief, fighting spirit, and advanced vision of what is occurring in the ring.

Dirrell will have a speed advantage and will be looking to use it. While his overly-footsy performance against Froch drew criticism, he would be well advised to use a version of that strategy here. It would be nice to see him stand his ground, but Abraham brings even more menace into the ring than Froch. With a world-class fight in which he performed well under his belt, maybe, just maybe Dirrell will settle more into his role of a world-class fighter.

Dirrell must win the early rounds of this bout if he hopes to win. Abraham can start slowly and Dirrell needs to put some rounds in the bag for the rainy day that is bound to come. When Abraham gets heated up, Dirrell will be in an unenviable spot. He will need to call on his toughness, which is perhaps not an area of strength in his arsenal. Maybe he can tire Abraham out, survive the middle-rounds assault and then surge at the end for a decision win.

That scenario sounds plausible enough. If Dirrell fights the fight of his life, he can win. He has the talent. He has the speed to trouble a fighter like Abraham. Whether he wins or not, however, will be more determined by his inside-makings of a fighter more than his technical acumen perhaps. Can he weather the storm? Having not taken a really clean clout to the jaw against Froch, can he stay together after getting clocked on the chin? Will he sample Abraham’s power early and erode into a negative style of full retreat?

Not to single out Dirrell. Some questions could still be asked about Abraham. Is his status a bit of a mirage? Beating Miranda twice is commendable, but Miranda might not be as good as some think and their first fight was a life-and-death struggle. The Taylor win was impressive, but was not against a prime opponent. The rest of the opponents on his ledger are a collection of unspectacular European middleweights who stood no chance against Abraham.

Abraham vs. Dirrell Prediction

Abraham is the real deal. Dirrell’s speed and legs will give him an early edge. At some point, Abraham will begin dialing in his game. Look for some early well-placed body shots to ebb Dirrell’s resolve as the fight goes into the middle rounds.

After 6 rounds of a moderately competitive fight, Abraham will begin to close the distance and batter Dirrell with enough shots to send him into a state of full retreat. With the fight slipping away, Dirrell will make a final stand in the 11th round and get hammered to the canvas. He’ll get up, but Abraham will continue to pour it on until the referee comes to the rescue of Dirrell.

Prediction: Abraham by TKO in the 11th round

Keep checking back in for more Super Six news, fight previews and coverage, as the second stage of the tournament kicks into gear.

It is no secret that Amir Khan has a questionable chin. How far can he go with such an Achilles heel? What are the historical precedents concerning fighters with this weakness? Can you make it to the top of the sport with a weak chin?

It is perhaps the most visible of all boxer shortcomings. Fighters often have a weakness yet still manage to forge their way to the top. You will often see top fighters with deficiencies in power, speed, defense, punch variety, and a bevy of other inadequacies, but how many top fighters have you seen with a weak chin? How many great fighters have there been who are one clean clout away from dilapidation at any given moment?

The answer is you do not see it very often. A weak chin will seldom allow a fighter to zoom seamlessly to the top and stay there for very long. Sometimes the chin is exposed during the prospect stage, the contender stage, or perhaps even later after garnering world title honors. Whatever the case, it invariably will be exposed.

Let’s look at other successful weak-chinned fighters and see if we can’t find a precedent that is favorable to Amir Khan:

Terry Norris

Perhaps the most analogous of all chinny fighters to Amir Khan. Norris was a prodigiously gifted boxer blessed with copious amounts of speed and power. Norris’ chin seemed less of an issue when he used movement, but when he elected to trade in the trenches, the result was usually a stoppage defeat. Khan could stand to learn some valuable lessons about career management by studying the course of “Terrible” Terry.

Norris was on the precipice of greatness several times during his career. His weak chin, however, would never quite allow his greatness to take a firm hold. Norris would build up momentum, only to see his weak chin betray him time and again, sending him to the back of the pack to regroup.

Norris’ chin was hardly granite, but his questionable ring I.Q. hastened his demise. Standing still against the ropes against murderous-punching Julian Jackson and cooperatively swinging your head directly into the wheelhouse of Simon Brown are surefire ways to get your block knocked off, especially with a dubious set of whiskers. Terry sure didn’t make it easy on himself.

Wladimir Klitschko

His recent utter dominance should attract Khan’s attention. Whether Wlad really has a weak chin is more questionable, as two of his stoppage defeats appeared to result more from fatigue than chin fragility. Nevertheless, his chin was and continues to be a point of concern.

How has he managed to revive his career? Did his chin become better? That seems unlikely. His resurrection is more based on tactical than anatomical improvements. He has mastered the art of non-engagement, realizing that a “fight” is not in his best interest. The times where he has been in a hotly contested scrap, he has come up short or struggled mightily. His goal is to use his mastery of ring geometry and geography to subdue his opponents. He uses his reach and his legs. The last thing he wants is an actual fight.

While it may alienate some fans that he takes the safety-first mindset too far at times, the discipline he employs in showcasing his talents while concealing his weaknesses should be a point of inspiration for Khan.

Roy Jones

Perhaps he best laid out the blueprint for Khan to follow. He was always a step ahead of his opponents during his long prime so his chin was never significantly tested. Maybe it was glassy all along or it could have merely deteriorated over time. The answer probably lies somewhere in the middle.

What isn’t in debate, however, is that Jones used his gifts to avoid being put in precarious situations and Khan should do the same even if it strikes against his natural fighting urges. One element making this more difficult for Khan is that Jones had never been splattered on the canvas like pancake batter until much later. Opponents surely would have been gunning harder for Jones had they known one good shot could make such a cataclysmic impact.

Positive Signs

One cannot ignore Khan’s partnership with Freddie Roach when forecasting his future. Seeing what Roach did with two-time KO victim Manny Pacquiao should send wind into the sails of Khan supporters. Roach is masterful in bringing the best out of his pupils, enabling them to shine while camouflaging their shortcomings. Nowadays, you rarely see Pacquiao in a precarious position in the ring. He has become a master of range.

Some of this has rubbed off on Khan. You see him more comfortable utilizing his skill and forgoing the macho approach that exponentially increases the possibility of a KO defeat.

It may be a disguised blessing that the Prescott loss occurred when it did. Khan can now forge ahead with an established identity—an enormously gifted yet vulnerable fighter who at least knows his limitations. Had a similar result happened in the midst of a world title run, the momentum would have taken longer to regain. He just turned 23 and is already at or near the top of a deep and talented division. It didn’t set him back too far.

Recommended Course of Action

With so many formidable fighters at and around his weight, Khan will have his hands full. His talent will see him through many fights. His work with Freddie Roach will help him maximize his talent. Khan stands to be a fixture in the alphabet title mix for the next decade or more. How much foothold he can gain in the pound-for-pound ratings is dependent on many variables.

Matchmaking will be key. He would be well advised to avoid low-reward bouts with dangerous but uncelebrated punchers. His next opponent was supposed to be Marcos Maidana, who is a more dangerous proposition to Khan than the gulf in their respective skills suggests. Khan’s team should opt for the same matchmaking approach that pitted Tommy Hearns against Virgil Hill, rather than Nigel Benn. It appears they have, as Maidana has been scratched as Khan’s next opponent.

Khan’s management should look to the Ken Norton example. Norton looked great against Ali, but folded like a house of cards to the man Ali beat—George Foreman. He gave Holmes fits, yet caved in quickly to two Holmes victims—Earnie Shavers and Gerry Cooney. Khan should only fight a huge puncher if the possible reward warrants such a risk, for example, when Hearns fought Hagler or when Norton fought Foreman.

Khan’s Future

Some version of the Terry Norris career trajectory seems likely for Khan. He will flash greatness, score a great win or two, but have his ascension interrupted by a few slip-ups. Exactly whom he fights and how disciplined Khan can be will figure enormously into his career, but history indicates he will very likely have his share of bad moments. One must look far down the all-time greats list before finding a fighter with substantial liabilities in the durability category. It cannot be hidden forever.

Before matching Pacquiao against the greatest welterweights of all time, several considerations must be taken into account. First of all, Manny’s welterweight history has yet to be written. It stands to reason he will make at least several more appearances in the weight class, and with the caliber of opponents available he could conceivably throw this analysis into a different light a few years from now. As of now, his welterweight resume is good, but wins over a post-peak De La Hoya and Cotto do not in themselves suggest all-time welterweight greatness.

A majority of the all-time great welterweights just so happened to be large-framed fighters who would later find success at higher weight classes. Former Welterweight Champion Tommy Hearns, for example, would later go on to win titles at light heavyweight and even contend at cruiserweight. Manny, conversely, is more or less at his physical limit at welterweight, having once been a flyweight titleholder.

In these fantasy matches, Pacquiao will be fighting some of the greatest fighters of all time. No other division has more representatives in the all-time top 25 than the welterweight class. Some of the welterweights he is matched with here are fighters he may have already surpassed in historical terms. However, many of those fighters compiled stronger resumes specifically at welterweight, while Manny’s greatness is spread out over a mind-boggling seven divisions.

Let’s get started.

Fight #1:

Henry Armstrong

149-21-10 (101 KOs)
World Welterweight Champion (1938-1940)

Analysis: At least Pacquiao is not at a big size disadvantage here, as both had a 67” reach and Manny even had an inch of height on the legendary “Homicide Hank.” Armstrong had also first seen fame as a featherweight, so he is a division-hopper like Pacquiao. At one point Armstrong held 3 out of the eight world titles in boxing at the same time. He held almost 40% of all titles in the game at the same time! During this period, he was a juggernaut.

The question is how peak was Armstrong at 147? He sure did put together an impressive run of 19 defenses, including wins over Barney Ross, Ceferino Garcia, and Baby Arizmendi. His other challengers, though, could serve as telephone book filler. In addition, he lost a fight to Lou Ambers in the middle of his reign, and after a little more than 2 years as champion was twice beaten by Fritzie Zivic, and once by stoppage. Is it not reasonable to say Pacquiao has surpassed both Ambers and Zivic in historical terms? Armstrong is the more highly ranked fighter historically between him and Manny, but during his welterweight reign, he had started to reach the end of his rampaging ways, whereas Manny has kicked it into a new gear at this weight.

To characterize Armstrong by his losses to Ambers and Zivic is completely unfair, so we have to assume in these fantasy matches that both men will be at their best. In that event, this would be one hell of a fight. Manny’s speed and athleticism would be pitted against Armstrong’s strength and aggression. The clash in styles would make for a classic clash.

Armstrong would get nailed coming in, but Pacquiao would not be able to deter him forever. Manny would have to dig deep throughout to thwart the attacks of one of the most effective pursuers of all time. Manny would rely on his legs and would be forced to perform at a work rate that might exceed his comfort level. That was Armstrong’s bread and butter. I think Manny would have some success while still fresh and might hold a slight edge through eight rounds with his pinpoint counters and mastery of angles.

As Manny became more stationary, Armstrong would begin to trap him on the ropes and in the corners and do some damage. The early bodywork would begin pay dividends for Armstrong. By the 13th round, Pacquiao would be looking like a potential stoppage victim before lashing out with a straight left that rocked Armstrong to his core. Manny would pour it on and Armstrong would barely make it to the bell.

The frenetic pace would render both men gassed for the final two rounds, which would become a battle of heart more than craft. Each man would have his moments before the final bell sounded ending a classic fight.

Result: Draw (Might be a cop-out, but after breaking down two dozen of these Pacquiao fantasy matches, I should be able to call one a draw and this fight is as good a candidate as any.)

Fight #2:

Sugar Ray Robinson

173-19-6 (108 KOs)
World Welterweight Champion (1946-1951)

Analysis: Here we have Robinson, the greatest fighter of all time fighting at a weight where he was untouchable. In a decade at 147, Robinson beat 15 Hall of Fame members and put together a record of 95-1-2. His only loss was to middleweight Jake LaMotta, a fighter he beat five times. It doesn’t get any better than that. That’s why Sugar Ray Robinson is the clearest #1 in any division.

Filipino Bernard Docusen, who stylistically resembles Pacquiao perhaps more than any of Robinson’s other welterweight foes, gave Robinson a heated challenge. One would figure Pacquiao could bring a lot more heat to the Sugar Man than Docusen. To a large degree, he would. The first 5-6 rounds of this fight would be furious, with each man having success. Pacquiao would do well using his angles and speed, while the deadly accurate Robinson would rely on power and science over volume.

By the mid-rounds, Robinson would begin to hone in with combinations and Manny would begin to get raked. Robinson would be combining all the elements that made him great: power, speed, fury, ring IQ, and craftiness. Able to shoot from a distance with his 5” advantage in height and reach, Robinson would begin to pick Manny apart, and at the end of the 8th round, Freddie Roach would save Manny from taking further punishment in an unwinnable fight.

Result: Sugar Ray Robinson by 8th round TKO.

Fight #3:

Jose Napoles

81-7 (55 KOs)
World Welterweight Champion (1969-1970, 1971-1975)

Analysis: Napoles, known as “Mantequilla” meaning butter, was exactly that—a smooth boxing machine. He could rough up an opponent or out-finesse him with equal alacrity. The Mexico-based Cuban fled his communist homeland after pro sports were banned and toiled in Mexico for many years before shooting into prominence when he was already pushing 30 years of age.

Manny would be nearly as tall as Napoles, but “Mantequilla” would enjoy a 5” reach advantage. Able to match Manny’s blinding speed with perfect timing and good speed of his own, Napoles would enjoy an advantage during most of the action. Manny’s pure fighting spirit and slashing power would play into the fight increasingly, especially as he begins to notice he is falling hopelessly behind.

Napoles would be educated and shrewd enough to make the adjustment and begin to dial in his offense, knocking Manny down in the 9th round. With Pacquiao in deep peril, Freddie Roach cleverly instructs him to depend solely on speed and box and move, move, move. Over the next several rounds, Pacquiao forgoes trying to hurt Napoles and befuddles him with quick and sharp movement highlighted by quick jabs and one-twos.

At the final bell, Manny had built up so much positive momentum that there is a little suspense surrounding the decision, however, Napoles had won so many of the early and middle rounds that it was too big of a hole for Manny to dig out of.

Result: Jose Napoles by close unanimous decision.

Fight #4:

Pipino Cuevas

35-15 (31 KOs)
WBA Welterweight Champion (1976-1980)

Analysis: What a strange career Cuevas had. He didn’t start or finish well, but in the middle is a 4-year reign of destruction. At the tender age of 18 with a mediocre record of 15-6, he was given an undeserved title shot against WBA champ Angel Espada. After knocking him out in the 2nd round, he began a brutal run of 11 defenses that left a bunch of broken bones and crushed dreams in his path.

Cuevas’ M.O. was not extravagant. He tried to get you in position to begin hammering away with his power shots. He could wield his left hook with wrecking-ball affect. Many quality fighters who fell victim to Cuevas were never heard from again; so thorough was the physical battering he could dish out in his prime.

Pacquiao would not dare to engage Cuevas in a phone booth-type of fight. He would be too smart to relinquish all his advantages and give Cuevas his best chance to win. What Manny would have going for him in this match are his angles, speed, and boxing ability. Shifty boxers who could sustain movement for the course of the fight always troubled Cuevas. Quick-handed boxers could also befuddle the one-dimensional Mexican legend.

Pacquiao would taste Cuevas’ power early, which would only serve to force him to utilize his slashing style of in-and-out boxing. Cuevas power, pursuit, and just overall viciousness would keep him in the fight for the first half of the fight, but Manny would hold an edge going into the second half.

One of Pipino’s shortcomings would surface around this time, with catastrophic results. He often moved in straight lines. He would march straight in, and then back straight out. He would do it one too many times and Manny would zap him with a haymaker left as Cuevas was pulling out, unprotected. Cuevas would go down in a heap. After struggling to his feet, Manny would jump on him, whipping in punches until the referee saved Cuevas from the inevitable.

Result: Pacquiao by 9th round TKO.

Fight #5:

Sugar Ray Leonard

36-3-1 (25 KOs)
WBC Welterweight Champion (1979-1982)

Analysis: Say what you will about Leonard, who often catches some flack from fans, but he is a top welterweight in historical terms anyway you slice it. His welterweight resume includes wins over Hall of Fame inductees Wilfred Benitez (39-0), Roberto Duran (72-1), and Tommy Hearns (22-0). Among all other Welterweight Champions, Leonard’s list of victims is perhaps the most top-heavy of them all. In his first 15 years as a pro, he lost one fight, which he avenged. He was also one ill-advised comeback fight at 41 away from going his whole career without being stopped.

I’m not sure how many 5’6” fighters in history could hang with a prime Sugar Ray Leonard. Able to work with a 4” height advantage and a 7” reach advantage, Leonard would be able to comfortably work from a distance. Leonard, one of the best “speed fighters” of all time, would be at least able to match Manny’s speed, but with a such an edge in natural tools, he would be able to use his speed to greater affect.

I’m sure team Pacquiao would come up with a strategy so that Manny would not merely serve as a piece of lumber being fed into a wood chipping machine. Pacquiao’s talent and versatility would make it so Leonard would not just be able to cruise his way to victory. I don’t think it would help him early, as Leonard would work from he outside and start putting rounds in the bag.

Manny would keep trying, searching for ways to turn it around. Leonard’s high-energy boxing would leave him a little fatigued by the championship rounds, and Manny would be able to bang home some good left hands that would remove the smirk from Leonard’s face and swell him up a little bit. At the end, however, it would not be enough. Leonard would win a taxing, but wide decision.

Result: Sugar Ray Leonard by unanimous decision.

Fight #6

Thomas Hearns

61-5-1 (48 KOs)
WBA Welterweight Champion (1980-1981)

Analysis: We’ve done fantasy matches for Pacquiao spanning 5 divisions and over two-dozen fighters. Out of all of them, this is the worst possible match-up for Manny Pacquiao. The physical dimensions are alarming, as Hearns would have a 7” advantage in height and nearly an entire foot in reach! That in itself is not enough to beat a great like Manny. But when the guy holding those advantages is also one of the fiercest punchers of all time, it makes for a very difficult proposition for Pacquiao.

Manny would have to get inside, but in doing so, would be right in Hearns’ wheelhouse. Hearns could punch with both hands, especially the right, but could also crush ribs and faces with his left. He could stalk or box and move. In this fight, he would box, as Manny would only be able to do business on the inside.

Hearns’ legs would sometimes betray him in the face of a heated battle. His chin, while often dismissed, was not that bad, though it wasn’t great either. I just don’t see Pacquiao able to get inside enough to test Hearns without getting whacked out first. I think it would be interesting for the first few rounds.

In the third, however, Hearns would begin to time an advancing Manny with some right hands. A right-left would send Manny down at the end of the 3rd round. Coming out for the 4th, Manny would step it up in an effort to reverse the tide, and get nailed by a Hearns right that would put him down for the count.

Result: Thomas Hearns by 4th round knockout.

You can find the other Manny Pacquiao vs. The Greats articles below, so be sure to check them out. With the potential Pacquiao vs. Mayweather bout perhaps coming back around later this year, it’s interesting to see how Pacquiao would have held up against some of these all-time challenges.

Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez will fight for a fourth time on May 22 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

It’s not often where a large portion of boxing fans evoke the “Too much of a good thing” principle, but the fourth Israel Vazquez vs. Rafael Marquez fight is causing a growing contingent of fans and insiders to wince in anticipation of this bout. This is strange considering their third bout in March of ’08 was perhaps their most scintillating encounter. Since when do fans shy away from great fights? Typically, fight fans are not the most empathetic group.

The ferocity of the first three fights pushed these two warriors to their absolute limits. This is all the more amazing when realizing their thresholds are amazingly high. They smashed each other over the course of three barnburners, resulting in untold battering. Both have been shelved since that third bout, only recently emerging to register comeback wins. By May 22, both will have had one fight in 26 months.

While Vazquez suffered a detached retina in their third bout, the true damage absorbed by both warriors will probably not manifest until down the road. There is a palpable sense that both guys are not the same. Even though he won 2 out of 3 bouts, Vazquez seems even the worse for wear. There’s something different about him, something about the way he looks. It’s as if his face looks different. It’s a little alarming.

This fourth fight would be like if Ali and Frazier met again in 1978. It simply would have been uncalled for, as is this fight. Perhaps not since Ali-Frazier have two fighters combined so perfectly to create thrilling action in the ring. That action ended up extolling a great cost on both men. We can see the results of this mayhem on Ali and Frazier and would like to avoid a similar fate for these Mexican legends.

The window has closed. Their time has passed. While greats like Vazquez and Marquez can never be written-off completely, boxing has moved on without them, and the junior featherweight/featherweight elite has likely surpassed them both. These men are entering their 17^th year as pros, both with over a decade at the world-class level. A Lazarus-like re-ascension to the top for either man seems almost unfathomable now.

The possible disastrous downside so outweighs the marginal upside that it would be nice to see this bout get scratched. What is the best-case scenario here, another thrilling fight? We’ve seen them do it three times already. The loser will likely be finished and more battered, while the winner would soldier on, likely to take more beatings. In other words, there is little to be gained in a fourth fight except to quench the thirst of bloodthirsty fans and exact more damage on two faded greats. It’s unfortunate that the two greatest junior featherweights of this era spent all their remaining resolve and resources solely on each other, but that is the reality we have here.

This fourth fight should instill a foreboding feeling among observers. With both of their reflexes even further diminished by age, mileage, and inactivity, this could be their most brutal fight yet. It takes a Quixotic leap-of-faith to presume both will somehow emerge unscathed from such a fight. You almost have to hope one or both of them has lost their ability to sponge up punches by the hundreds. A quick fight would be far more desirable than another 12 round punch-a-thon.

Boxing is a sport that can take you and spit you out onto the ground. After witnessing this for over a century, you can start to see the telltale signs before the catastrophes occur. Both boxers have arrived at a critical yet often-indecipherable point in their careers. In this sport, boxers can reach a point where continuing their career becomes extremely risky. For every George Foreman, there are 100 other guys babbling on street corners. Vazquez and Marquez are at that crucial impasse.

There was a time not too long ago when fans eagerly anticipated seeing Roy Jones, Israel Vazquez, and others. Now, it’s like watching a piece of wood being fed into a woodchipper. The good feeling just isn’t there anymore with these fighters. It’s like we’re watching a skier wiping out and hoping he doesn’t crack his head on a rock. When at that point, matchmaking takes on even more importance, and in this case, it may have failed.

On behalf of all boxing fans, I praise both fighters for all the great fights over the years. Both have been great sportsmen and gentlemen. Let’s hope these men do not fall through all the filters that are supposed to be in place to protect fighters. Those in charge on May 22 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles should be on high alert. Sometimes people need to be protected from themselves.

The biggest boxing event of our era is off. Crestfallen fans now scramble to make sense of this fiasco, attempting to figure out how two men can walk away from the richest fight of their lives.

While situations such as this are seldom black and white, this writer feels the blame should be laid on the doorstep of Floyd Mayweather. The fight was on the verge of being signed. How to divide the money, the common hanging point in a superfight negotiation, had been hashed out. Then, suddenly, the issue of drug testing comes up. If not for that, the fight would be signed right now and we would be covering press conferences instead of this sad aftermath of a failed negotiation.

At the end of the day, the fighters themselves must take responsibility for career transgressions. While both Mayweather and Pacquiao’s management played a role in this, any fallout reflects on the fighters. We don’t look back to the early 90’s and say Rock Newman avoided Lennox Lewis, we say Riddick Bowe avoided him. The fighters themselves must ultimately take responsibility for their career trajectories.

Here are some reasons why Floyd must accept responsibility for this failed negotiation:

The Powerlessness of Suspicions

I have suspicions. They live in my head and I have no evidence. If I had evidence, they wouldn’t be suspicions, they would be facts. Should any importance be given to my suspicions? Absolutely not. Why? They are unsupported thoughts.

My suspicions impose zero responsibility on those I suspect to prove me wrong.

Imagine the precedent this would set. Anybody suspected of something should have to prove otherwise? Even if I had people who agreed with me, suspicion is suspicion. Facts are facts. The grand-canyon sized gulf between suspicion and fact seems to have been lost on a great number of boxing fans that blame Pacquiao for this fight falling apart.

If I suspect guilt on the part of a person, does the burden of proof shift to the accused? In what part of the world does this practice exist? Not in Vegas. A person could choose to ignore my suspicions, and I would be no closer to establishing his guilt. I would also have no right to be offended. Nobody owes me an explanation based simply on suspicions or assumptions devoid of evidence.

A few years ago, someone stole some pieces of jewelry from me. My neighbor’s son is a drug addict. I suspected he might have stolen the jewelry. I decided to let it go. But if I demanded to search his room, and he declined, would that alone justify me thinking he was guilty? If he ignored my accusations, would I have a right to then assume he did it? The answer must be no. At the end of the day, all I had were my suspicions, which add up to precisely nothing.

The only times suspicions carry any weight are when those in power hold them. If my boss who suspects I am stealing office supplies asks to see my bag, I might feel compelled to acquiesce to his demands. He is, after all, my boss. If a colleague made the same request, my response would not be so accommodating.

In other words…

Floyd Has no Authority

Mayweather attempted to become the first participant of a sport to simultaneously play the role of a commissioner. The amount of fans who have not gotten their heads around this is startling. Floyd Mayweather has no right to make any such drug testing demands. Like every other fighter, he is subject to the rules of the commission he fights under.

This fight is not happening because Manny didn’t cater to all of Mayweather’s demands. Lost in this is the fact that Manny did agree to the most thorough drug testing given to a pro fighter in the history of boxing. But it wasn’t enough to meet the demands that had no right to be made in the first place.

Imagine a world of sports where participants can call shots based on suspicions. What if a baseball team suspected another team of using corked bats? Before the game, they demand that all bats be confiscated and put through a battery of tests to determine their legitimacy. When the accused team tells them to forget it, what should happen? The answer is nothing. They had no right to levy demands in the first place. That’s what Bud Selig is there for. Let him officiate the sport and let the participants play. The line must remain clear.

Floyd’s Role of Anti-Drug Crusader

It simply does not ring true. While he has criticized those in the past caught for steroid use, a little trash talk is not enough to become a respected voice on the topic. In 40 fights, he has never made such demands on any other opponent. During an 18-month retirement—he didn’t make a peep about drug testing. Then at the precipice of signing for his biggest fight, he throws out the drug testing issue. Like a rock.

If Floyd were as genuine about his concern about performance enhancing drugs as he wants everyone to believe, why did he not broach the subject at any point in his 13-year pro career? Why did he not once contact the proper authorities and make an effort to change drug-testing policy? He waited to be on the cusp of signing for his landmark fight to bring up the issue of drug testing?

I would applaud Floyd’s concerns if he didn’t use them solely to stonewall the biggest fight of this generation.

Floyd’s Flippancy over His Legacy

When the signature boxing talent of the time says, “Legacy don’t pay bills,” then I guess we should expect his aversion to fighting top fighters. After wins at 130 and 135 over Diego Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo, his M.O. seems to be to skirt the challenges of worthy and dangerous opponents. Over four years ago, he entered the welterweight division. His entrance came just before the explosion of talent making 147 the best division in the game. He mopped up the remnants of the inglorious Spinks-Judah-Baldomir era.

Since that era, such standout fighters as Antonio Margarito, Joshua Clottey, Miguel Cotto, Shane Mosley, Andre Berto, and Manny Pacquiao have risen to the top of the division. These guys can now be called division mainstays, and Floyd has yet to face any of them. In a relatively brief time in the division, Pacquiao’s resume at 147 is already more compelling than Floyd’s. If he beats Clottey, it will be even more so.

Yet Floyd continues to claim he is the greatest of all time, even as we are approaching a decade since he has fought a prime and dangerous opponent in his own weight class. Not to say all his bouts have been easy. He should receive moderate props for beating Baldomir (the linear welterweight champion at the time), still-dangerous Zab Judah, Oscar De La Hoya, and undefeated Ricky Hatton.

But when reflecting on the deeds of past greats and all the dangerous fights Floyd has avoided, it leaves knowledgeable fans with an empty feeling. No one is saying he should go the Sugar Ray Leonard-route and fight four Hall of Famers in a two-year stretch, but to go several years without even facing a top-five guy in your division is inexcusable for a fighter making the grandiose claims of greatness that Floyd makes.

If Floyd’s avoidance of top foes was merely a notion before, it has now become a full-fledged universal truth. Look at it this way—name one other modern top fighter with a dozen years of world title fights under his belt who has never once been an underdog? That alone speaks volumes of Floyd’s aversion to risk. He had a chance to erase two big problems in his life with one fight—his financial problems and his waning legitimacy as an all-time great. At the cusp of the signing, he sabotaged the whole thing.

Does Floyd Have Ulterior Motives?

It just might be that this is all a ruse by Camp Mayweather, and they never intended to fight Pacquiao this year. To make demands only a commission can make, Team Mayweather is either guilty of gross hubris or possibly something even more calculating. Maybe they reflected that Manny is absolutely peaking while Floyd has had one bout in over two years. By forcing the drug-testing issue, they afforded their man more time to get in the groove while smearing the reputation of his only rival for the #1 pound-for-pound spot.

In addition, they perhaps want to give Manny a little time to decline. They might figure Manny will be unable to operate at this fever pitch for much longer. While Mayweather is older, Manny has been through more in the ring, due largely to his higher caliber of opposition. Camp Mayweather might be thinking a few more fights against top welterweights will send Manny heading down the proverbial hill that awaits all boxers.

This may all seem unfathomable until one reflects on the very calculated nature of Mayweather’s brain trust. Throughout his career, he has been put in one low-risk/high reward scenario after the next against fighters with rabid followings, managing to become the #1 guy in the sport without ever facing a top five pound-for-pound entrant. It takes a certain amount of clever orchestration to manage that.

Along those same lines, we cannot ignore the reality that bad blood sells. While a huge mega-fight now, if Pacquiao-Mayweather were allowed to simmer for another year in the broth of trash talk, it would become even bigger. Perhaps this is not a reason for Floyd’s camp to cause a collapse in negotiations, but maybe it made it onto their list of overall considerations.

You never know what’s going on in people’s heads. Perhaps Camp Mayweather just threw out these accusations to ruffle the feathers of Pacquiao, and then became stuck to them. Rather than abandon the issue and lose face, they just stuck right on with it, using the above reasons as justification.

Could I Be Wrong?

A few things have crossed my mind to make me question my stance on this topic. The first being that Manny conceivably could have just said, “Screw it, I’ll take the tests.” Sure, Floyd has no right to make the demands in the first place, but Manny did agree to take some blood tests. Whether it is 14 days or 28 days, what difference does it make? It is a tiny bit suspicious. But you know where I stand on suspicions.

The bottom line is that Manny agreed to become the most tested fighter of all time. No one has ever taken even three blood tests for a pro fight before. So you can’t really say he is running from the tests. For Mayweather to be appeased, Manny must almost roll over like a dog for him. There’s pride involved here. Manny is the top draw in the game, and if you were in the same position you may very well be inclined to say “forget this guy, let’s fight someone else.” This stance wouldn’t be motivated so much by the fear of getting caught as much as it would be driven by the effrontery displayed by the Mayweather camp.

If Manny were on performance-enhancing drugs, then his motivation here would be very different. I would have almost preferred that he just refused to take blood tests altogether. The fact that he agreed to some form of it, but just not exactly the way Mayweather wanted it, makes his “refusal based on principle” perspective a little sketchier to me. It would be like if the kid I suspected stole my jewelry allowed me to search his home, but just not his closet. That’s way more suspicious than just outright denying me a search.

Again, I stress: this world we be a lot worse off if we were all governed by an “I think you’re (insert accusation here) so prove me wrong” policy.

Final Thoughts

Time will ultimately decide this matter. If Manny is later proven to have taken performance-enhancing drugs, Floyd will be vindicated. Any of the perceived mistakes some feel he has made during this negotiation will be put to rest. Whether rightfully or not, he will be given credit as one of the first to see through the BS.

If no proof ever surfaces showing Manny is guilty of what Floyd accuses him of, Floyd’s legacy will have a huge stain on it. It would decrease in value like a white cashmere sweater with a red blotch on it. It’s not as if there isn’t already a strong vibe swirling around boxing circles that Floyd has spent the bulk of his prime avoiding dangerous fights. If you add to that the troubling component that he created a fake issue to duck his signature fight, then you can kiss his legacy goodbye.

But this isn’t the future. This is right now. And as of right now, Manny has to answer only to the commissions of the places where he fights, not to Team Mayweather. To determine the public agenda of a fighter based solely on the suspicions of his biggest rival is beyond ridiculous.

By the time he arrived in the junior welterweight ranks, Manny had already begun employing some of the new techniques that now have him poised to make a serious run into the top 10 of all time. Though he was a few pounds over 140 for the De La Hoya fight, we will include that fight into our analysis alongside his emphatic knockout of Ricky Hatton.

Pacquiao showed sterling form in these two bouts, and one doesn’t necessarily need to see him blow out 6-7 more no-hopers to know he’s a handful at 140 for anyone who graced the division. Looking at Pacquiao now, one can almost still envision him as a junior welterweight. It seems his ideal weight class, free of the giants preying in the waters at 147 and above.

The junior welterweight division had its early moments, but never really took off until the 70’s. Since then, some of the greatest fighters in history have called 140 home. How would Manny Pacquiao do against these fighters?

Fight #1:

Nicolino Locche

WBA Junior Welterweight Champion (1968-1972)

117-4-14 (14 KOs)

Analysis: At one point in his reign, Locche had lost only 2 of 122 bouts. When you see that Locche had only 14 knockouts, it becomes obvious the Argentine didn’t power his way to the top. Locche depended on his defense, but what a defense it was, perhaps the flashiest of all time. You can go on You Tube and watch a balding and aging Locche against future junior welterweight star Antonio Cervantes to see his defensive mastery. Standing in the pocket, Locche allows Cervantes to tee off with his slashing punches, but Cervantes cannot lay a glove on him.

Locche had a radar-like defense and was the consummate ring general with unparalleled self-confidence. He took his opponents off their game, and then went to work offensively once he had them off stride. Against Pacquiao, it would work to some degree. Manny has never in his career faced this kind of opponent, which is understandable. It’s one thing to batter willing participants like David Diaz and Ricky Hatton, but what happens when a guy refuses to cooperate?

Manny would get frustrated early, as Locche’s radar would keep him out of immediate danger. But Manny is no one-trick pony. He can adapt too. Manny could surpass the fury and talent of any of Locche’s title challengers, therefore rendering Locche’s jive tactics a little moot after a certain point in the fight. In a fight that mentally exhausts Pacquiao, he manages to nose ahead in the second half of the fight, but Locche was so slippery and hard to hit that he could probably guile his way to the final bell.

Result: Manny Pacquiao by unanimous decision.

Fight #2:

Aaron Pryor

WBA/ IBF Junior Welterweight Champion (1980-1985)

39-1 (35 KOs)

Analysis: Aaron Pryor was the total package. A ball of fury and hunger wrapped up in a skillful package. His will, durability, passion, and confidence were unmatched. His only loss came long after falling victim to the glass pipe. It is during his prime where he made history: a long undefeated run punctuated by brutal knockouts over hall of famers Antonio Cervantes and Alexis Arguello.

This would be a fight fan’s delight. Fight fans pan for gold hoping to find nuggets like this from time to time. It’s a shame it can only exist in fantasyland, for this would be one for the ages. You have two offensive whirlwinds with their self-belief bursting at the seams.

A prime Pryor was a man who simply refused to acknowledge what the opponent did to him. When hurt, he would just get angry and redouble his efforts. His chin was concrete, but his will is what really allowed him to take flush shots from hall of fame fighters without faltering. Sometimes a great chin is more of an anatomic anomaly and other times it stems from an unshakeable sense of self-belief. Pryor’s durability may fall more into the latter category. Would it be enough to see him through the storm of leather Pacquiao would bring to this matchup?

To some degree, I believe it would. While Arguello may have hit harder with a single shot, Manny would bring more punch variety and angles into this fight. I see Pryor in the role of pursuer, though not really the puncher in the fight. Who’s to say Aaron doesn’t walk into a killer Pacquiao hook like Hatton did? Well, Pryor was a lot better than Hatton. His M.O. was basically to throw punches as fast and hard as he could for as long as he could. And it was always good enough.

Manny had developed a new wrinkle by this point in his career that might change the complexion of the fight. It’s as if he suddenly became a very advanced study in the art of ring geometry. You rarely see Manny in a vulnerable spot nowadays. He works the angles masterfully, always in a position to do damage while not overly-exposing himself in the wheelhouse of his opponent.

Whether he could do this against Pryor is problematic. Pryor was so frenetic in his attack that an opponent wouldn’t be allowed to set up shop from the outside for too long. Manny would be forced to fight, and I think this fight would gradually become waged more on the inside as the fight progressed. At the end of the day, it would come down to Pryor’s fury and volume against Manny’s speed and athleticism.

The first half of the fight would find Manny finding success picking off Pryor from the outside with his flashier shots. Pryor would pick up steam and Manny would have to call on all his talent and desire to avoid succumbing to the storm. The fight would come down to the wire, with the hard-charging Pryor gaining momentum in the later rounds.

The feeling here, not made with total conviction, is that Manny would barely be able to hold off Pryor to eke out a split decision win. I think the difference could be whether the bout was scheduled for 12 or 15 rounds.

Result: Manny Pacquiao by split decision.

Fight #3:

Julio Cesar Chavez

WBC Super Lightweight Champion (1989-1994, 1994-1996)

107-6-2 (86 KOs)

Analysis: Chavez was unbeaten in his first 90 fights. At his peak, he was the best in the sport. Watching him fight, you may not be immediately awestruck. Such was the case with Chavez—not great in any obvious, eye-catching manner, but yet an unstoppable force. He was like the tide. You knew what was coming and there was no way to stop it. This viewer has yet to see another fighter with the ability to block out what the other guy was doing better the “Lion of Culiacan.”

While his opponents were sometimes more flashy, harder punching, and slicker, none of them were able to beat Chavez until he was well past his prime. He moved forward, seldom over-extended himself, and worked the body with a gusto rarely seen before or since. Fans and opponents alike were often surprised when in the later rounds; Chavez would have his man beaten to smithereens. It would be so gradual and workmanlike that you would miss it if you didn’t pay close attention.

The Meldrick Taylor fight is a microcosm to Chavez’ brilliance. Most viewers saw the lightning-quick Taylor dominating the fight with his rapid-fire combinations. By the later rounds, Taylor began to look like a man beaten with a baseball bat. Viewers were left asking, “Whoa, what happened to Meldrick?” After the controversial finish, we discovered the true brutality of Chavez’ attack. Taylor suffered fractures to his facial bones, swallowed a ton of blood, and had damage to his kidneys and liver. He would never be the same.

Chavez could operate with the knowledge and confidence that what his opponent did was irrelevant. It was all about whether his opponent could withstand what Chavez brought to the table. For many years, it was enough to make him the best in the sport. Speed troubled Julio, but he still managed to brutalize both Taylor and Camacho, two of the fastest fighters of all time.

Against Manny, Julio would have his hands fuller than he did with Taylor or Camacho. Manny has terrific speed, but extra elements that could additionally trouble Chavez. Manny’s power would make Chavez somewhat more respectful. His use of angles and movement would be enough to give Julio a terribly difficult evening. I think it is fair to say both men would be facing their all-time toughest opponent in this matchup.

However, a prime Chavez was an irresistible force. Manny would win a bunch of early rounds, but in doing so, would also take a horrific battering to the body. Julio would be cognizant of the fact that he could not battle Manny on even terms swapping head shots early, so he would devote himself to a body attack. By the middle rounds, Manny would begin to feel the affects. He would soon be unable to attack with the flair of earlier rounds, increasingly falling into Julio’s range. Whereas Manny may have been able to gut his way through a Pryor fight, the Chavez attack has a greater truth to it.

If Manny could get to the scorecards, he would have a chance based on all the early rounds he put in the bag, but Julio’s constant aggression and late-rounds surge would make a stronger case. The fight would be competitive enough to warrant a rematch and perhaps a rubber match. But I see Julio getting a late knockdown to win a close one.

Result: Julio Cesar Chavez by unanimous decision.

Fight #4

Kostya Tszyu

IBF/WBC/Unified Junior Welterweight Champion (1995-1997, 1998-2005)

31-2 (25 KOs)

Analysis: Don’t laugh it off. Boxing is based on styles. Tszyu just might have the right mix of skills to trouble the historically more significant figure in Manny Pacquiao. Kostya was very adept at timing faster fighters with fight-ending shots. The Zab Judah fight stands out as a good example, and even though Judah has subsequently shown his chin to be at least a notch below granite, the fight showed Kostya’s ability to combat speed with aplomb.

This fight strikes me as almost the best of the bunch. It would be a knockdown, drag-out brawl that would have the MGM crowd crackling in a frenzied state. Kostya would start strongly, scoring a flash knockdown in the first round. A more serious knockdown in the second would have Pacquiao backers in a worrisome state.

Manny would gain his footing in the 4^th and 5^th rounds before exploding with a combination in the 6^th round sending Tszyu splattering to the canvas. While moving in for the finish, Tszyu would once again perfectly time Manny with a right hand sending Manny down for a third time. The bell would sound, with Manny needing to hold onto the ropes to navigate his way back to his corner.

Implored by trainer Freddie Roach to rely on movement and speed, Manny would edge round 8. In the 9^th round, Manny would begin to click on a spent Tszyu, timing his rushes with crisp fusillades of telling shots. Manny would zero in with a few power shots, and the referee would have to jump in to save a badly hurt Tszyu.

This fight would show Manny as a fighter who can overcome severe adversity, a prerequisite trait of a fighter hoping to one day be in the very top pantheon of all-time greats.

Result: Manny Pacquiao by ninth-round TKO.

Stay tuned to see how Pacquiao does against the best welterweights of all time. Of course, that piece of the series will have even more relevance should the Pacquiao vs. Mayweather fight gets finalized. However, by fighting Oscar De La Hoya and Miguel Cotto in the division, even without Manny Pacquiao fighting Floyd Mayweather it’s worth taking a look at.