Manny Pacquiao and Joshua Clottey bout just specter of what fans should've received

GRAPEVINE, Tex. - When Manny Pacquiao and Joshua Clottey step into the ring for their 12-round welterweight match at the palatial Cowboys Stadium Saturday, the specter of the fight that should be taking place will hang heavily in the air.

This was supposed to be the night that Pacquiao, the current No. 1 pound-for-pound king, faced off against Floyd Mayweather Jr., the man who held that title before he retired in 2008. The two men were placed on a collision course when Mayweather returned to boxing last year and as Pacquiao steamed through opponents such as Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto.

But the negotiations for that fight fell apart because of Mayweather's insistence on Olympic- style drug testing for himself and Pacquiao and Pacquiao's refusal to agree to random blood testing.

So instead of the bonanza of Mayweather-Pacquiao, boxing fans, and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones - who wanted to showcase a major fistic event at his new stadium - are left with Pacquiao-Clottey, something of a consolation prizefight.

Even though Jones, Pacquiao, Clottey and promoter Bob Arum have been talking up the welterweight showdown between the Filipino star and the former IBF welterweight champ from the Bronx by way of Ghana, it is hard to keep Mayweather out of the conversation.

As trainer Freddie Roach was laying out the strategy for how Pacquiao could dismantle the steel-chinned Clottey in the press room at the Gaylord Texan Hotel on Thursday, he was asked if he thought Mayweather-Pacquiao would ever happen.

"I think the fight will happen because he (Mayweather) wants to make Pacquiao money," Roach said. "He can't make it with anyone else. It's a great fight. It's the fight that everybody wants to see. That puts us (boxing) back in the lead of MMA. That's a fight that's good for the sport."

In order for there to be any talk of resurrecting the negotiations for that fight, Pacquiao must first take care of Clottey (35-3, 20 KOs) and Mayweather must defeat Shane Mosley in Las Vegas on May 1.

Those two fights are not layups for either man. Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 KOs) has to contend with a full-fledged welterweight who might come into the ring weighing as much as a middleweight.

"My guy will weigh in at 147 pounds, but he'll come in at 155 or 160 pounds," said Lenny DeJesus, Clottey's trainer. "He likes to eat, and that's his normal walking around weight."

Pacquiao hit 145-3/4pounds and Clottey 147 at the weigh-in at Cowboys Stadium yesterday.

Roach expects Pacquiao's quickness, speed and confusing attacking angles to be enough to thwart anything that Clottey might bring. And he expects those skills to pave the way for Pacquiao to do something that none of Clottey's other opponents, including Diego Corrales, Zab Judah, Antonio Margarito and Cotto, have done - stop him.

"I think he can stop him," Roach said. "He's got a good chin. But the punch that will get you is the punch you don't see."

Despite the fact that Clottey isn't a household name in boxing, a win would be an impressive one for Pacquiao, who will start campaigning for a seat in congress in the Philippines once the fight is over. And he has talked about retiring, although he hasn't been too specific about the time frame.

There won't be much left for Pacquiao to accomplish in boxing if he can't get Mayweather into the ring. And if Pacquiao loses his race for the congressional seat, there won't be much to do in the Philippines, except enjoy his money and his fame. And that might be enough.

For Clottey an upset victory over Pacquiao could lay the groundwork for greater respect in the welterweight division. He would be in line for a match against the winner of Mayweather-Mosley.

Of all the people connected with this promotion and those who hover above it, Clottey is the one who will receive the biggest bounce if he wins.

Source: nydailynews.com