By Ryan Dunn: Joshua Clottey is a bruiser. He’s a solid fighter with a tight stance, and a tendency to bull rush his opponents with intentions of body shots and uppercuts.

Sometimes this style yields opportunities to land his power shots, but other times it can set up his blind hooks that cause head butts. Don’t rule out an early cut as Clottey tries to prove his worth against the pound-for-pound king. If a surprise knockdown of Pacquiao is going to happen for Clottey, it’s going to be in the early rounds.

And for those who think Clottey fades late, I’ll say this: Clottey will continue to throw punches at the same rate and speed for all 12 rounds. However, his bulldog, high-gloved defense will grow a little lax as those mammoth arms get heavy. Late in the Cotto fight he began to get tagged more frequently with left hooks as a result of arm fatigue.

Another point I wanted to make: Clottey is no chump. He steamrolled Diego Corrales, gave Miguel Cotto a run for his money, and while he couldn’t overpower the brick-fisted Antonio Margarito, he showed flashes of brilliance in the fight as well. Add to that list his impressive effort against Zab Judah, and a TKO of Jose Luis Cruz (something neither Sharmba Mitchell nor Shane Mosely managed to do), and you have a strong fighter with top-contender credentials.

He’s not the type of fighter you necessarily want to step in the ring against. He’s a strong, intimidating guy who looks like just about the last person you’d want to meet in a dark alleyway. He can hurt you with the uppercut, cut you with his bull-rushes, and wear you down with powerful body work. But as we’ve seen with other fighters, a ripped body with huge arms and shoulders doesn’t usually translate to unstoppable force or blazing hand speed. It’s often times just the opposite.

In Manny Pacquiao you have a more complete fighter. Before Freddie Roach got him into his gym, Manny was a one-dimensional, one-handed, but naturally gifted puncher. His repertoire seems to grow with every fight, as though a new weapon is honed and perfected with every bout he trains for. He has an unbelievable talent for putting torque on his punches from odd angles, creating opportunities for power punches when another fighter would simply be off balance and ineffective.

Roach has mentioned body punching will be a focal point of their training regime, but I have a feeling this fight will come down to Manny inciting a war, and finishing what he starts every single round. He will sap the willpower from Clottey bit by bit, until frustration leads to rash decisions like when Hatton fought Mayweather. This can lead to bad things, and I don’t see this fight being any different.

If Clottey is to stand a chance it will be on textbook counter punching. He can’t mess up or he’s going to get caught with Manny’s undetectable power shots. He isn’t going to get to Manny first, and by the time he gets his shots off, his target will most likelt have moved on to his next combination. Clottey is a lunger, and with those broad shoulders he’s able to put power into those shots. But even that can be neutralized if Manny takes a step outside and times a counter to Joshua’s exposed chin.

Manny should also be training against the uppercut, which is Clottey’s stock and trade. But the thing about Clottey’s inside work is that it’s usually pretty telegraphed, and easy to time if you’ve got the hand speed. Look at the Margarito fight, where he would crouch, lean in, block a blow, then deliver his uppercut.

I don’t believe Pacquiao will fall for that move more than once or twice. In fact, it’s possible he might use that weapon against Clottey. With dedicated body work, Manny can bring Joshua’s gloves down, and set up his patented hooks (both fists now, mind you). It’s worth noting, also, that Clottey has fairly inadequate head movement, which is a terrible characteristic against a speedy fighter like Pacquiao.

Some have reported Manny’s been training in the orthodox stance in training camp. I wonder if this is to throw the rhythm of the fight off in case Pacquiao is unable to circle Clottey like he did Cotto. It doesn’t seem like a problem against Joshua, however, who (when he’s not lunging) tends to riff off his opponent and play the counter-shot game.

There’s one move that hasn’t been talked about much, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see it put into play in Manny’s game plan, and that is the feint. It worked to put Marquez on the ground, and it could work against Clottey, who likes to set his feet and throw counters. Head feints always seem to work well against counter punchers, for obvious reasons.

I just think Manny has all of the weapons, all of the answers needed to assuage the onslaught from Clottey in the early rounds. Manny might take some punishment in order to suss out Clottey, the same way he did against Cotto, as a way to see what adjustments the Ghanan Grand Master might have made in training camp. But in the end he should be able to figure his opponent out and maintain productive rounds early on, with a high likelihood with a stoppage in the middle to late rounds.

Most of this sounds academic, and fairly obvious, but I say it because I think there is less subtlety between these two styles, and most of what I believe will happen is based on some fairly predictable behavior by Joshua, and some fairly reliable expectations of Manny.

If you watch a highlight reel of Clottey’s KO’s however, you will realize quickly that he has a strong punch. He has the strength to hurt Pacquiao, about ten times more so than earlier fighters in Manny’s career like Barrera or Morales.

But in the end, as has been the case ever since Manny moved up in weight, speed kills. Many of these welterweights aren’t used to seeing hands as fast as Manny’s. I would argue that Manny’s hands are faster than Mosley’s, and he can throw combinations as effectively as Mayweather when he’s in his rhythm. If you read any review of Manny’s fights starting with David Diaz, you’ll see the familiar line: “the opponent never saw the punches coming.” And it’s true, they don’t.

Also, if an opportunity to put Clottey away early presents itself, don’t expect Manny to hold back. He might say he’s looking to entertain the fans with a late round stoppage, but he takes whatever openings his opponents give him, as any fighter should. Clottey’s never really been hurt in his fights, and with opponents like Cruz, Corrales, Cotto and Margarito, he’s been in the ring with his fair share of strong fists. Something tells me this fight will be different for Clottey. Worse for him.

I want to close this article with a note to the ongoing feud between Pacquiao and Mayweather fans. There is room in this sport for more than one great fighter. Let’s just agree that both of these guys are fantastic for their own reasons. You can put one or the other up against a bum and the bum could upset them. That’s what makes this sport so exciting. Mayweather has won all 40 of his professional fights with some of the slickest boxing the game has ever produced. Pacquiao has knocked out or outclassed some of the best fighters of our time, and continues to knock out opponents despite going into just about every fight the smaller guy.

The next fight up is Pacquiao vs. Clottey. Let’s all enjoy what this fight has to offer, two brawlers who love to go toe-to-toe and test their opponent’s mettle. And then come May, we can watch two of the fastest punchers in the sport trying to outsmart, outwit, and outlast one another inside the blue island they call the ring.