Pacquiao solidifies cash cow status; March 13 bout generating mega-fight response

Filipino Sports Examiner | Dennis "dSource" Guillermo

He isn't one of Time Magazine's 100 most influential people for nothing.

After only 3 hours, more than half of the 40,000 available seats for Manny Pacquiao's March 13 bout with Joshua Clottey at the Dallas Stadium in Arlington, Texas have been sold.

From the media coverage to the fan turnout during the press conferences in Dallas and New York, what was supposedly a contingency match-up is looking more like that fight of the year if the Pacquiao-Mayweather clash can not be made.

Who said Floyd Mayweather Jr. and his crew's baseless steroids accusations have affected Pacquiao's status as the boxing's biggest draw?

What's makes the feat all the more impressive is that Pacquiao is selling tickets amidst fan disappointment that the mega-fight between him and Floyd Mayweather Jr. is not happening. Also, he is doing it while having a dance partner who is not a big draw. Clottey may be a tough opponent but he does not have the type of following like Cotto, Hatton and Dela Hoya.

Throughout all the rumors and controversy that surrounded Pacquiao, the people have recognized the universal truth about him: His fights are well worth seeing.

Top Rank chief Bob Arum told ESPN's Dan Rafael,

"Ross Greenburg and I are very gratified that the public has responded like they have, and we are happy for our partner (Cowboys owner) Jerry Jones," and added that more tickets can be made available if the demand calls for it.

Steroids accusations or none, people have decided to stand behind the Filipino slugger for all the right reasons- the excitement and action he brings to the table. He is innocent until proven guilty and as long as he is on top of his game and he is able to compete and sanctioned by the governing bodies, he will continue to scintillate and capture fight fans' imaginations.

Speaking of controversy, Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s trainer and uncle Roger Mayweather will be a guest at the Boxing Truth Radio Show tonight at 6pm Pacific Time. You can tune in to the show by visiting this page or logging on to www.TheBoxingTruth.com.

Source: Examiner.com

Twenty thousand 'Texicans' can't be wrong: They love Joshua Clottey

Boxing Examiner | Michael Marley

Things I Learned This Boxing Weekend:

1. Who knew that Joshua Clottey of Ghana and The Bronx is so immensely popular in the Dallas-Ft. Worth-Arlington Metroplex area that he could singlehandedly move 20,000 tickets in a single day for his March 13 bout at Cowboys Stadium against that Filipino guy? Wait until Clottey’s massive group of Mexican fans can get their hands on ducats! Maybe Clottey and the opponent will pack 60,000 into Jerry Jones’ football playpen, it could happen.

2. It’s kind of a career achievement to have my name defamed on Rapmusic.com’s chat room pages but I have to sign off when one poster starts his comments off by referring to someone he vehemently disagrees with as “nuthugger clown.” Such lofty discourse cheapens us all.

3. I’m not saying bullnecked, 73 year old former middleweight contender Florentino Fernandez can beat world champ Kelly “Ghost” Pavlik but, judging by the Cuban Clouter’s physique, I would not make him an “out bet” either. Meeting and greeting FF brought back fond memories of the salad days of the old Fifth Street Gym, of Chris and Angelo Dundee, of Gomeo Brennan, Yama Bahama and all the rest. There was a kid named Cassius Clay who toiled there also, starting in a time when blacks had to be off Miami Beach by sundown. Clay turned the bitter segregation into a positive, turning it into extra roadwork with his heavy sweats and combat boots.

4. Jones and promotional partner Bob Arum will bring Pacman and Clottey to the Chicago of Mexico, industrial city Monterrey for a press conference. This is where the Cowboys are the most popular gringo team. Hordes of Mexican fans fly, drive or take buses to Cowboys home games and, given that they are Mexican, how many do you think are not boxing aficionados? It's also worth noting that in an "American Bowl" NFL game between Houston and Dallas on Aug. 15, 1994, 112,376 fans bought tickets in Mexico City. The 'Boys may be America's Team but they are also Mexico's Team.

5. Mad Max Kellerman did not mince any words when I asked the HBO voice Saturday night what his thoughts are on the March 13 ring return of Antonio Margocheato? “He should not have a license,” Kellerman said. I don’t think he was referring to a driver’s license, either.

6. Don’t be unfair and say that Floyd Mayweather has never sold 20,000 tickets for any of his fights. He surely has if you add the paid attendance of two or three bouts together. He sells live gate tickets cumulatively, not rapidly.

7. If they fought next week, I think flashy Yuriorkis Gamboa wins going away against Juanma Lopez despite Gamboa’s sketchy chin. Which is yet another reason for Uncle Bob to dangle but not deliver Lopez-Gamboa until well into 2011.

8. Fight cards in New York aren’t the same without Johnny Bos in the house, right or wrong? And Don Majeski and Flash Gordon make three.

Source: Examiner.com

Sparring mates will be key in preparing Pacquiao for Clottey

LA Boxing Examiner | Ricardo Lois

Los Angeles - Manny Pacquiao's next welterweight foe may not have the marquee name that past opponents like Oscar De La Hoya, Miguel Cotto, or Ricky Hatton did, but Joshua Clottey is just as dangerous challenger.

Clottey, 35-3, 20 KOs, stands five foot, eight inches, will not fade over the course of twelve championship rounds, and challenge Pacquiao at every second of every round with a solid straight right and the ability to throw efficient combinations.

As training picks up for Pacquiao in Hollywood's Wild Card Gym over the next few weeks, trainer Freddie Roach will be in charge of selecting suitable sparring partners to prepare the Filipino icon for his battle with Clottey. These sparring partners need to assist Pacquiao in conditioning himself, as well as emulating the tactics and skills Clottey brings to the ring.

Early reports point to the use of Shawn Porter and Amir Khan as key sparring partners in Pacquiao's camp.

Porter, a 22 year old junior middleweight who sparred with Pacquiao before, is a suitable mate, as his height and weight will condition Pacquiao's body to the metronome pace Clottey will attempt to pound out on March 13 in Dallas, Texas.

Khan, a rising star in boxing, is five feet, ten inches tall, and his speed and skill will keep Pacquiao's own skills sharp for the bout with Clottey.

Though I have not received or read a complete report on the boxers whole will spar with Pacquiao, Roach would be clever in adding in former junior middleweight title holder and middle weight contender Roman Karmazin into the mix.

Karmazin is a much larger fighter and over the course of several sparring sessions could add the final ingredient in preparing Pacquiao.

Source: Examiner.com

Miguel Cotto: “Pacquiao will have to be strict to beat Clottey!”

By FightFan.com Staff (24-Jan-2010)

Former world welterweight champion Miguel Cotto spoke to HBO last night to give his thoughts on the upcoming March 13 bout between his former foes Manny Pacquiao and Joshua Clottey. “It will be a tough fight,” Cotto said. “Manny will have to be very strict because Clottey has a lot of strength and has good defense. I believe the guy who is the best prepared and in the best shape will win the fight.”

Source: fightfan.com

PACQUIAO LOOKS LIKE HE DIDN’T TAKE TIME OFF AFTER COTTO FIGHT

By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 24 Jan 2010

Manny Pacquiao, the reigning world pound-for-pound king looks like “he didn’t take time out” after his 12th round TKO victory over WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas last November.

That’s the assessment of conditioning expert Alex Ariza after Pacquiao had two days of workouts at trainer Freddie Roach’s Wild Card Gym.

Ariza said Pacquiao did several rounds on the punch-mitts and his usual routine but would start his strength and conditioning exercises on Monday. Ariza said Pacquiao planned to begin sparring on Thursday. Ariza added, “he is looking sharp already” in preparation for his title defense against tough Joshua Clottey at the $1.2 billion Dallas Cowboys stadium on March 13.

Pacquiao’s adviser Michael Koncz told us that Pacquiao’s training “went very well. Training is going good and Manny is feeling good.”

Broadcaster Hermie Rivera who lives in California and is well known for having steered Luisito Espinosa to the world bantamweight title and Morris East to the light welterweight crown informed us that he had spoken to Roach about Pacquiao’s training and quoted Roach as telling him, “Pretty good on the first day. No problem at all. He was punching hard. He’s weighing 149 pounds right now. Perfect for the agreed upon welterweight limit.

Asked about what they could expect from Clottey, Roach said “He’ll be aggressive. He’ll try to kill us. He comes forward, he’s strong and he fights. That’s what he does. Its not a problem. I’m reviewing tapes on how Clottey handles lefties.”

Roach added that “If a knockout comes that would be our bonus but I’ll be getting ready for twelve hard rounds.”

The promotional kickoff rites at the venue owned by Jerry Jones followed by a stop at Madison Square Garden spiced up with the attractive Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders has had an early impact on ticket sales.

Top Rank promoter who was at Madison Square Garden for the championship doubleheader featuring undefeated fighters Juan Manuel “Juanma” Lopez and Yuriorkis Gamboa against Steven Luevano and Rogers Mtgawa was obviously happy over the sale of tickets for the Pacquiao-Clottey fight.

ESPN’s Dan Rafael said Arum told him that 20,000 tickets of a planned 40,000 had already been sold in the first three hours of public ticket sales which was preceded by three days of limited pre-sales. The ticket prices ranged from $50 to $700.

Meantime, Clottey was reportedly set to fly home to Accra, the capital of his native Ghana to speak to US Embassy officials and try to facilitate the renewal of the visas of his trainer, Godwin Nii Dzanie Koet and assistant Daniel Clottey which expired in November last year.

While the US Embassy reportedly wanted to further investigate the application of Koet Clottey was said to have been flatly refused a visa.

Top photo: Pacquiao (R) and Roach (L) during the news conference in New York last week. Photo by Chris Farina / Top Rank.

Source: PhilBoxing.com

PACQUIAO WATCH: Manny headed for big box office hit

SOME 20,000 tickets were reportedly sold out within three hours after these went on sale Saturday. An indication that there is no letting up in Manny Pacquiao’s drawing appeal at the box office.

When Manny meets Joshua Clottey of Ghana at the Dallas Stadium in Arlington Texas on March 13, it will be his first time after six fights to again appear before boxing fans in the Lone Star State of Texas.

He already twice fought in the said West Coast state. The first was in 2003 when he annihilated Marco Antonio Barrera in eleven rounds to capture the imagination of mainstream American boxing fans.

The other occasion was in 2007 when he dropped Jorge Solis in the eight round for the fringe World Boxing Council international super featherweight title.

The early ticket sales bodes well for Manny’s continuing debate with Floyd Mayweather Jnr as to who is the better draw between the two top pound for pound fighter in all of today’s boxing.

While Manny was quick to move on after the aborted megafight date with Mayweather by taking on tough and durable Clottey, that cannot be said of the American pretender.

While the drug-testing issue created a dent on Manny’s stature as the best prizefighter in boxing today, it was Mayweather who ended up the bigger loser.

Mayweather has no choice but to take Shane Mosley to trump up Manny’s date with Clottey.

Mosley may be the better boxer than Clottey but the problem is Mayweather has been avoiding him since 1999.

A loss against Mosley could spell the doom for Mayweather. That is why I am having serious doubts he will take the fight as suggested by many boxing experts.

That said, I am likewise skeptical it will draw in more live viewers than what the Pacquio-Clottey fight is fast shaping up.

Manny already scored big when HBO decided to cover his fight with Clottey via pay per view telecast despite Mayweather having struck a deal for the March 13 schedule with the giant cable program provider.

Mayweather’s reluctance to take on quality opponent with a chance to hand him his first loss has upset many boxing scribes and experts.

They have been repeatedly questioning Mayweather’s obvious attempt to keep his immaculate record by picking smaller opponents this late in his career.

For whatever reason, Mayweather must now begin to realize his prima donna days are over.

He has to take Mosley and later fight Pacquiao and win both fights to prove and validate his claims as the best fighter ever to don the boxing gloves.

Those nagging questions are never issues with Pacquiao.

Manny have always been known to step up against competition – taking bigger and more dangerous opponents en route to winning four lineal championships and six world titles.

Many believed he won another one to add up to seven when he shamed Barrera who was stripped of his featherweight title for refusing to pay the WBC sanctioning fees.

These traits, as opposed to Mayweather’s suspect match making decision, are what make Manny a fight fan favorite.

I won’t be surprised if Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones will consider reconfiguring the stadium to seat more than 40,000 boxing fans – the projected number of tickets that are needed to make the Pacquiao-Clottey fight an unqualified success.

This time Manny will outdo himself - box office-wise, I am sure.

Source: asiancorrespondent.com

Pacquiao-Clottey tickets on fire on first day of sales

Saturday, January 23, 2010 | Print Entry

NEW YORK -- Sure, most boxing fans really, really wanted to see pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao fight Floyd Mayweather on March 13. While that fight isn't happening now because of their inability to agree on how to handle drug testing for the bout, the public seems to have accepted with open arms Pacquiao's replacement fight.

He's going to meet former welterweight titleholder Joshua Clottey on HBO PPV on March 13 in the first boxing event to be held at the new Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, outside of Dallas.

In just the first three hours of public tickets sales (preceded by three days of limited pre-sales) on Saturday, more than 20,000 of the approximately 40,000 available were gobbled up. They ranged in price from $50 to $700.

"Ross Greenburg and I are very gratified that the public has responded like they have, and we are happy for our partner (Cowboys owner) Jerry Jones," Top Rank promoter Bob Arum told me on Saturday night at the Madison Square Garden Theater.

Arum and Greenburg, the president of HBO Sports, were sitting together shortly before the telecast of Top Rank's doubleheader, featuring featherweight title bouts pitting Steven Luevano and Juan Manuel Lopez and Yuriorkis Gamboa and Rogers Mtagwa.

Arum said if the demand for the fight continues the capacity of the stadium, which is 100,000 or so for Cowboys games, can easily be increased.

"It's going to be quite a night," Arum said. "And Jerry isn't just a one-event guy. If he sees this as a success you can be sure he'll do more boxing in that great stadium."

Also Saturday night, junior middleweight titlist Yuri Foreman and former welterweight titlist Miguel Cotto were in the house. Arum, who promotes both, was talking with both sides trying to finalize a June 12 fight between them, which he is planning for in the Madison Square Garden main arena.

Source: sports.espn.go.com