Insufficient both in terms of skill and prestige. This isn't to say that Clottey is not a quality boxer, for he absolutely is. He also fought Miguel Cotto recently, and while technically losing the match, most observers believe that he actually out-boxed Cotto for the vast majority of the fight. The main issue was that Clottey took his foot off the gas once Cotto retreated into his hit-and-run technique that he utilized in the last 4 or 5 rounds against Manny once he realize that he could not go toe-to-toe with a superior opponent. Clottey was not content to chase Cotto around the ring, leaving him vulnerable to Cotto's calculated strikes, which ultimately (and apparently) left a bad taste in the mouth of the judges at ringside.
And it is by Cotto that we can compare these two boxers: the one that was able to finish him off (Pacman) and the one that was unable to do so (Clottey). Both fighters have been known to have trouble with their defense. The Ghanaian Clottey fits right in line with the stereotypes that characterizes the Continent's lack of attention to detail on the soccer pitch: all offense and no defense. And this isn't far off for Manny either. While Pacquaio certainly dismantled his former opponent, Cotto still managed to land plenty of power punches on Manny's jaw. And based on Pacquiao's previous fights with Juan Manuel Marquez, it is clear that he has a tendency to focus too much on the attack, at the expense of the retreat. For a bigger, stronger boxer like Clottey, this is an exploitable trait. That is, if he did not suffer from the same problem himself.
The ultimate difference between these two fighters comes down to two things: ferocity and training. Clottey can land punches with the best of them, but we have yet to see him put together a complete fight. He either loses attention, and/or lacks the corner wisdom that can guide a lesser fighter to glory against a better fighter. Manny already knows what he has to do to beat Clottey, and Clottey might even have his own ideas about Manny. But we know for a fact that Manny will execute, because Manny has been trained to execute and because he is a relentless punching machine. Manny isn't interested in unanimous decisions, he is interested in winning as soon as possible and by any means necessary.
Tale of the Tape.
This isn't the fight that we all wanted to see. The next logical step for boxing was Pacquiao-Mayweather. But, Floyd got cute, and fucked the whole thing up. So now we are stuck with what we have. But considering the two fighters that we have before us, this isn't the worst thing in the world for boxing. Casual boxing fans and MMA detractors are interested in offense, and often criticize defensive fighters like Mayweather for their 'boring' approach. If this is the case, then their should be no complaints tomorrow night. For these two fighters are going to be throwing punches: Clottey realizes that his only shot in this match is the haymaker and he's got the strength to pull something like this off. Manny realizes the pressure to put on a show for the world, and he knows that offense is the key to success in that regard.
The smart money has to be on Manny this time through, as it usually would be. But if you've read anything about Clottey, then your heart might be riding with the underdog tomorrow night. That is, if your heart is not at all interested in seeing Pacquiao-Mayweather in this lifetime.
I stopped reading after the third line...not because it was a bad post...but because there is less than ZERO chance that PacMan doesn't destroy this poor fellow. Meanwhile Mayweather fights some schmo too..
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