Clottey said fighting the world’s pound-for-pound king is a chance of a lifetime and that he is prepared to go all the way to make the most out of the opportunity.
“It’s a very, very great opportunity. I have to thank God for it. I have to take advantage of it,” Clottey told Gregory Leon of boxingtalk.com.
“You see I have a lot of things to beat Manny Pacquiao. I have my defense in there and I’m a strong welterweight. He’s fighting with one of the best out there and I think I have everything to beat him and when we get to the ring, I will prove it to everybody,” he added in the same internet report.
After talks of a planned Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather megafight died down, the name of Clottey swiftly cropped up as Pacquiao’s next foe. Clottey perceived it as a joke at first, but was elated upon confirming the report through boxing website fightnews.com.
“Well, you know I went to one of the websites and I saw that I would be fighting Pacquiao. I was like, are these people kidding or what. I found out from the fightnews and I realized that it’s true. I was like wow, this is a big opportunity fighting with the best pound for pound fighter out there now,” said Clottey, a native of Ghana who now resides in Bronx, New York.
“I’m so happy about it and you know I’m really, really happy because it’s not easy for a fighter to fight with Pacquiao because of the way that boxing is now.”
In his previous bout, Clottey narrowly lost to Miguel Angel Cotto in their WBO welterweight title match. While Clottey struggled against Cotto, Pacquiao was hardly in trouble in his brutal 10th round destruction of the Puerto Rican star on November 14 last year at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Clottey said he was no longer surprised that Pacquiao picked him as his next opponent.
“I know about that and I’m surprised that he choosed to fight me. But things happen for a reason. I didn’t know I was going to fight Pacquiao in the first place early 2010. Second, it sounds like a miracle. If I get to the ring and I beat him, it’s like a miracle and everything happens for a reason,” said Clottey.
When asked if he’s going to knock Pacquiao out, Clottey candidly replied:”It depends you see, because people think Pacquiao is a smaller guy, but he’s fighting the bigger guys and at the end of the day, he beats some of them and he knocks some of them out. I can’t tell myself I’m going in there and Pacquiao is the smaller guy so I think I’m going to knock him out.”
“I don’t think like that. This is boxing and one punch can make a big difference. God-willing I knock him out, then my money will start coming crazy. I can’t tell you I will knock Pacquiao out, but I will make so may differences in the ring,” assured Clottey.
Meanwhile, Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38KOs) and Clottey (35-3, 20KOs) will meet face-to-face for the first time today (RP time) in a grand press conference at the Cowboys Stadium to formally announce their forthcoming rumble at the US$1.2 billion stadium owned by American billionaire Jerry Jones. – THE FREEMAN
Source: philstar.com
I do believe clottey is one of the tough fighter on welter devision coz he had the power and style in the ring that other boxers doesn't had, but may i remind all boxing fans out there that manny is a classic boxer and he had the speed, power and staminna as an athlete and i can asure that he can Ko clottey in a mid rounds...
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