by John Chavez
Mar 12, 2010 -
170 pounds is the weight reported by premium cable network Showtime as to what Joshua Clottey weighed in on fight night against Diego "Chico" Corrales (rip). This fight would take place back in April 2007 and would be fought at a catch-weight of 149.
Why the two combatants fought at 149 instead of the welterweight limit of 147 boggles the mind but it was the official contracted weight nonetheless.
Apparently the reported 170 pounds is the number that boxing fans love to clamor about being that it sounds enormous and quite imposing especially for a fighter competing at the welterweight limit.
I'll admit it, I'm a bit skeptical of this reported weight being that we have visual evidence that when Clottey fought Zab Judah, albeit 14 months after his fight with Corrales, his fight night weight was 156 pounds.
The evidence is the picture used up top.
So basically Clottey would have to be 14 pounds heavier against Corrales in comparison to when he squared off against Zab Judah 14 months later. As shown in this picture, "The Hitter" would weigh in at 156 pounds on fight night against the Brooklynite.
There are only three scenarios in this situation:
A. Joshua Clottey miraculously shrunk 14 pounds in 14 months.
B. The unofficial weight reported by Showtime was when Clottey was weighed wearing a back-pack full of nickels.
C. Those extra two pounds of catch-weight allowed "The Hitter's" body to require less severe muscle atrophy leading up to the weigh-in and it therefore created the huge discrepancy between his weights against Judah in comparison to that of Corrales.
Here's an example of why I feel as though the 170 pounds "reported" weight has to somehow be off the mark.
Kermit Cintron, a former IBF welterweight title-holder who stands at 5'11" with a 74 inch reach... a full three inches taller and four inches greater reach than Clottey at 5'8" with a 70 inch reach weighed in at 169 pounds on fight night against Alfredo Angulo in 2009.
Here is the evidence to show it.
Cintron was a guy who had always struggled mightily to make the 147 pound weight limit and when allowed to compete at the much more comfortable junior middleweight limit proceeded to grow substantially overnight.
So basically we're saying that the broad-shouldered Cintron who boasts factual greater height and reach advantages over Clottey would weigh less than the 170 pounds reported by Showtime.
Just as Clottey has in fights past, he'll probably enter the ring against Manny Pacquiao in the 155-158 pound range.
Not 170 pounds like many in the boxing media love to throw around.
In any case, it doesn't really matter either way. Pacquiao-Clottey will come down to two relatively evenly matched opponents that will battle for welterweight supremacy in the Top Rank stable.
It will be a very, very entertaining fight for as long as it lasts...
PS. Official weights for the fight... Manny Pacquiao 145.75 pounds / Joshua Clottey 147 pounds.
Source: theboxingtruth.com
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