By Ryan Dunn: In a victory as impressive as any in Manny Pacquiao’s career, the Pride of the Philippines has won a unanimous decision after twelve rounds of some of the most one-sided boxing we’ve witnessed at the elite level in some time. Pacquiao won at least 11 of the rounds tonight decisively, against a fighter much stronger and bigger than he was.
In tonight’s fight, Pacquiao managed to turn a B+ top welterweight into a C- workman with nothing close to the pedigree of his Filipino opponent. The question of what is more important, speed or strength, was answered tonight in the same unquestionable fashion.
Pacquiao threw over 1,200 punches, an amazing feat for a welterweight. The high punch volume and low connect percentage (something around 20%) was to be expected against a rigid defensive fighter like Clottey, but if you watch some of Clottey’s more impressive fights (Judah, Corrales, Cotto, Margarito), he was able to pair that defense with strong counter punches. It’s true that Clottey DID manage to land a few strong shots, but not nearly enough to garner any respect from Pacquiao.
It’s also true that Manny never really hurt his opponent tonight, but the fact that he found a strategy to win so convincingly against a fighter who you can argue is still in prime shape, and hasn’t sustained much damage in his career whatsoever, is something worth noting. When it became clear that there was no penetrating the Great Wall of Ghana, Pacquiao made the correct decision to move in and out, and just unleash his hands regardless of what landed. Judges will score rounds based on activity, and Clottey never gave them anything to go on.
At the end of the day, it remains to be seen what it will take to unseat Pacquiao from his current pound-for-pound throne. There will be much speculation as to the right answer, but until a fighter can bring that game plan into the ring and execute it with any level of success in the welterweight division, it remains nothing more than an antagonist’s fantasy.
Manny Pacquiao is, without a doubt, the most exciting, most improved, most unbelievable talent in boxing today. It doesn’t take blind bias to agree to that. We will see what becomes of him as a politician, and who is left in the aftermath of May 1st. Perhaps Mosley or Mayweather have what it takes to steal the crown, but one thing we DO know, it was not (and will never be) Joshua Clottey.
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