NEW YORK—Boxing sensation and world welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao returned to New York City Wednesday, Jan. 20 to promote his upcoming fight against Joshua Clottey, dubbed as The Event and scheduled for March 13 at the Cowboys Stadium in Dallas, Texas.
The press conference was the second of only two scheduled press events to promote the fight. Pacquiao and Clottey announced their fight first in Texas on Tuesday.
This early, Pacquiao said that he is going to work and train hard to make sure that the fans get what they deserve when they watch the match which will take place in the biggest NFL stadium in the country.
"Like in my previous fights, I promise that the viewers will get a good match. I cannot promise I’d win because I know that Clottey is a very strong fighter," Pacquiao said.
Considered the best fighter in the world and the pound-for-pound king, Pacquiao will defend the WBOwelterweight title in the first boxing match to be played in the $1.2 billion facility.
"As they say, everything is bigger in Texas," promoter Bob Arum said, and promised that the fight will live up to its billing, and like Pacquiao’s past three fights, will also become a mega-fight.
"We will see boxing like it has never been seen before," he added.
Last November, Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 KOs) beat Miguel Cotto, who beat Clottey (35-3, 20 KOs) last summer. However, that fight was a split decision that many felt should’ve gone to Clottey, a native of Ghana who lives in Bronx, New York.
The fight marks one of the biggest world championship fights to be held in a major U.S. sports stadium since the Muhammad Ali-Ken Norton World Heavyweight Championship at the Yankee Stadium in 1976, which was also promoted by Top Rank.
"We want to have big fights here," said Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys, during the press conference in Texas. "This is the first step to doing that, and I’m excited we could get a fight like this here," he added.
The stadium will be configured for over 40,000 fans, with elevated floor seating similar to the NBA games.
"I have wanted to bring a major boxing event to North Texas for many years, so why not bring in the biggest and the best," said Jones. "Manny Pacquiao is boxing’s No. 1 pound for pound attraction and the world champion. Manny defending his title against Joshua Clottey is not just a great fight, it is "The Event", and one we can showcase to the fullest in Cowboys Stadium. We’re going to promote this like it was the Super Bowl."
Source: asianjournal.com
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