By Eric Thomas: Former IBF welterweight champion Joshua Clottey (35-4, 20 KO’s) will finally be getting back in the ring on March 12th when he takes on 33-year-old Calvin Green (21-5-1, 13 KO’s) in a 10 round bout on the undercard of the WBA clash between junior middleweight champion Miguel Cotto vs. Ricardo Mayorga at the MGM Grand, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Clottey, 33, should be well rested after taking it easy since being defeated by Manny Pacquiao in a one-sided 12 round decision loss in March 2010.

A lot of boxing fans were angered by Clottey’s lack of effort in the fight, as he seemed to treat the Pacquiao bout like one long sparring session and mostly just covered up and threw occasional jabs and power shots. By fighting defensively, Clottey ensured that he would survive until the end, but he ruined a good opportunity to make a name for himself by fighting hard and showing courage in defeat. It’s better to give it all you have and lose than to just cover up and look to survive the way that Clottey did in the Pacquiao bout.

Never the less, Clottey is promoted by Bob Arum, who is loyal to his fighters, and will stick by Clottey by giving him another chance. Clottey should easily beat Green, because he’s on a higher level than Green by far. This is more of a confidence builder for Clottey and chance for him to look good in front of boxing fans who were turned off by his last performance. It’s going to take awhile for Clottey to get another title shot, but he probably will sooner or later because of Arum’s tendency to keep his fights in house.