Cintron vs. Clottey?

According to the latest boxing news, IBF welterweight champion Kermit Cintron (28-1, 26 KOs) will defend his title against challenger Joshua Clottey (28-2, 19 KOs) in December 1, 2007, to take place possibly in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Clottey, 30, ranked # 8 in the IBF, is coming off an easy 10-round unanimous decision over Felix Flores in August 2007.

Clottey previously lost a 12-round unanimous decision to Antonio Margarito in December 2006, a bout in which Clottey easily led in the early rounds before suffering injuries to bout hands, allowing Margarito to take over the fight and pull away to decision. However, Cintron, for his part, was totally blown out by Margarito, who annihilated him in a 5th round KO in April 2005. Based on the head to head matchups, Clottey figures to be a very tough bout for Cintron, who is considered one of the hardest punchers in the welterweight division.

That having been said, his endurance is poor and he tends to fade badly by midway through the fight. Though he catches his 2nd win by the 10th round, he has a tendency of giving away important rounds in the middle of the fight. His chin, however, is superb, which is factor that makes him even more dangerous for Cintron, who is considered only an average boxer. Without a knockout or knockdown, Cintron will find himself in a tough battle against the highly skilled Clottey if the fight makes it into the later rounds.