Written by Tim Starks
Friday, 12 March 2010 16:25
Whether you’re looking for a basic primer or a complete run-down, I’m bringing you the links you need to get fully caught up on the big welterweight fight in Dallas between Manny Pacquiao and Joshua Clottey.
We always start with the work we’ve done here. We looked at what was at stake; how good Clottey is; the keys the fight, parts I and II; the undercard (first me, then Scott); and after all that looking, produced a final preview and prediction.
If you’re still unfamiliar with one or both men after that, or just want to take a short cut, it’s hard to do better than watching some short clips. Unfortunately, HBO seems to have only produced a “greatest hits” for Pacquiao, but there’s a lot of other Clottey footage on HBO’s YouTube page. I included the one I thought was best. (HBO also has some more in-depth stuff, like a Compubox analysis of both men, on its website’s page for the fight.)
You can glance over each fighter’s complete record at their Boxrec pages, here and here.
My provider is charging $49.95 for standard definition and $59.95 for high definition broadcasts of the pay-per-view. Since I just upgraded to HD, I guess I’ll have to swallow paying the extra ten-spot, then gulp down a bunch of Tecate to get their $20 rebate.
Rarely are the weigh-ins interesting as a spectacle, but there’s probably some mild intrigue about whether Clottey struggled to make weight, and whether Pacquiao will come in at the full 147-pound limit. It could all make a strategic difference in the fight’s outcome, however minute. You can watch it at 6 p.m. on Top Rank’s website.
Among the biggest papers and magazines in the country, the New York Times stayed on the sidelines this time around, but The Washington Post – the last major pub not to return to boxing coverage – joined in, and provided a welcome, well-done and informative piece about Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach. GQ put together a beautifully written profile of Pacquiao, while Time looked forward to the prospects for Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather. (I’m perturbed by the degree to which Pacquiao’s side is saying they want the fight and they’ll do anything to get it, but always conveniently note they won’t agree to Mayweather’s preferred drug testing regimen, which is the whole reason the fight fell apart and isn’t likely to go away). The New York Daily News honed in on the Bronx angle – it’s where Clottey and his trainer live. The Wall Street Journal does a pretty straight preview, but notes this may be the last time we see Pacquiao in the ring. The L.A. Times and USA Today examined, respectively, promoter Bob Arum’s grudge against Las Vegas and the Cowboys Stadium venue. Some of those publications did plenty more on the fight, by the way, most of it very much worth reading.
Just about done. I leave you with some thing off-beat -- If you’re the kind of person who likes to watch boxers being drawn in time-lapse footage, then you should love this…
…and I leave you with a question. How big do you think this fight will be, as far as pay-per-view sales? Earlier this week, Top Rank boss Arum was predicting no less than 900,000, and I was originally inclined to agree. But the traffic on this blog for this Pacquiao fight has been nowhere near that of the usual Pacquiao-generated numbers, and not nearly as many people want to come watch the fight at my house as usual. Arum recognizes that Pacquiao-Clottey is a huge comedown from Mayweather-Pacquiao, and in a way I’m glad he got that message. But the question remains – how many buys? I’m guessing a little below the bottom end of Arum’s prediction, 800,000. Drop your prediction below.
Source: queensberry-rules.com
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