Joshua Clottey on Pacquiao's Power, Training and More

By Ryan Burton

Top welterweight contender Joshua Clottey talks to BoxingScene.com about his upcoming mega bout with Manny Pacquiao on March 13 at Cowboys Stadium. The Ghana native says that is is exactly why he didn't take the fight on Foxsports Espanol. While he didn't know he would get a fight with Pacquiao, he knew a big fight would be in the works. Clottey also talks about the the keys to fighting Pacquiao and also a potential fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. in this exclusive interview.

BoxingScene.com: First off congratulations on landing the big fight with Manny Pacquiao. How are you feeling right now?

Joshua Clottey: I feel so good. I am so happy that this happened. I am so happy that he decided to fight me.

BoxingScene.com: I'm sure you saw Pacquiao's last couple fights with Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto. What can you do to slow down the Pacquiao express?

Joshua Clottey: Well see he is beatable. He beat all the guys you mentioned. He has beat all the guys out there so you would think he is unbeatable but there are a lot of things I have to watch. Those guys aren't the best defensive fighters. I have to train very hard and apart from the training I have to study hard and study the tapes.

BoxingScene.com: You have a really good chin and you are lot bigger than him. Are you confident he is going to feel your punches more than you feel his?

Joshua Clottey: Well I have never fought him before so I don't know how hard he can hit until we get in the ring. That is the only way I can tell how hard he can hit. I don't know if his punches will hurt me or not. In boxing if one punch lands in the right place the fighter goes down. It is going to be a different story when he and I fight versus what happened to those other guys because I know I have my defense there. The only thing I need to work on is punching him after he punches and placing my shots.

BoxingScene.com: Cotto hit him with some big shots. Manny definitely leaves himself open to be hit. Do you think you can take advantage of that?

Joshua Clottey: That is something that was surprising. We saw that Cotto's punches couldn't hurt him (Manny) so he left himself wide open and took his punches. We know that Cotto can punch and we know he can take a punch. I think Cotto thought that Pacquiao's punches could not hurt him. Pacquiao surprised him with those two knockdowns. I am not thinking that Pacquiao can't hurt me. In boxing its like I said a punch in the right place can send a guy down. I respect Pacquiao in the ring and I will be careful.

BoxingScene.com: Looking back at our last conversation when you turned down the Rosales fight on Foxsports Espanol it didn't look like the right move but it looks like a stroke of genius now.

Joshua Clottey: Well of course Ryan. I deserve something better than that like this. I am a world class fighter. I am among the best. I don't have to fight with dudes on small cards and small fights. I really have to thank Bob Arum for giving me this shot.

BoxingScene.com: If you pull the upset and beat Pacquiao who would you want after that?

Joshua Clottey: Everybody thinks there are two fighters out there who are the best pound for pound. Those are Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather. God willing if I beat Pacquiao I would love to fight Mayweather but now I am not thinking about if I am going to beat Pacquiao easy and thinking about Mayweather. If I come out successful I would love Mayweather because I want to fight against the best.

Source: boxingscene.com