Joshua Clottey Dissects The Manny Pacquiao/Steroids Myth

By Keith Idec (photo by Chris Farina/Top Rank)

Joshua Clottey seems as certain that Manny Pacquiao isn’t on steroids as he is that he will win their welterweight title fight March 13 in Arlington, Texas.

Clottey refused to support suggestions from Floyd Mayweather Sr. and Floyd Mayweather Jr. regarding Pacquiao’s possible use of performance-enhancing drugs on a conference call to promote their fight. After getting to know Pacquiao during the press tour for their HBO Pay-Per-View main event, Clottey cannot bring himself to suspect Pacquiao of wrongdoing.

Mayweather’s supporters surely will call Clottey naïve, but Clottey couldn’t care less.

“I don’t want to do that, because I respect him so much,” Clottey said. “He’s a very nice guy. I feel comfortable around him. He’s a nice, classy guy. He respects everybody. … I don’t think Manny Pacquiao does [steroids]. But if he does that, then that is cheating the sport.”

Clottey (35-3, 20 KOs, 1 NC), a Bronx, N.Y., resident raised in Ghana, understands why steroid speculation has swirled around Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 KOs) now that he has dominated Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto in his last three fights. But Clottey contends those fighters made mental mistakes that enabled Pacquiao to stop each of them.

“Mayweather started thinking [Pacquiao is on steroids] because of the way Pacquiao beat Cotto,” Clottey said. “To me, from the way I analyze it, I think the other guys [lost to Pacquiao] because they don’t respect his power. That’s why he’s surprising them.”

Clottey is convinced Cotto, who beat Clottey by split decision June 13 at Madison Square Garden, was most guilty of underestimating Pacquiao’s power.

“Cotto is stronger than Pacquiao,” Clottey said. “It is true. But Cotto [didn’t] respect Pacquiao. He [thought] Pacquiao is too small to hurt him. I’m not thinking that at all. See me in the ring. I will give him a lot of respect. With that, he’s not going to surprise me with any punch. If you don’t respect an opponent, even your little son can hit your jaw and if it connects, you’re going to go down.”

Puerto Rico’s Cotto had been stopped by Antonio Margarito 15 months before he fought Pacquiao, but Clottey, a good defensive fighter with a granite chin, has never been knocked out. His three losses include 12-round decision defeats to Cotto and Margarito, and a disqualification defeat to former welterweight champ Carlos Baldomir.

The 31-year-old Pacquiao, of course, has been knocked out twice during his 15-year professional career, once in a 110-pound bout and again in a WBC flyweight title fight.

Rustico Torrecampo, another Filipino southpaw, knocked out Pacquiao in the third round of a February 1996 bout in Manila. Thailand’s Medgoen “3-K Battery” Singsurat also knocked out Pacquiao in the third round of their 112-pound championship match in September 1997 in Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand.

Those losses, coupled with Pacquiao’s ability to withstand the power of much bigger men, have made Mayweather question Pacquiao’s legitimacy even more. While Mayweather’s demand for Olympic drug testing eventually ended negotiations for boxing’s biggest bout, Clottey and his handlers never considered trying to make Pacquiao submit to additional testing prior to their fight.

Bob Arum, Pacquiao’s promoter, said negotiations for the Pacquiao-Clottey fight lasted about 24 hours. It obviously helped that Arum’s Top Rank Inc. also promotes Clottey, who clearly learned an invaluable lesson during negotiations for an ill-fated rematch against Margarito late in 2008.

Clottey, 32, turned down what would’ve been a career-high $750,000 purse because he wanted at least $1 million to meet Mexico’s Margarito again. Margarito instead fought Shane Mosley, and although Clottey eventually landed the Cotto fight, he made $200,000 less than he was offered for the Margarito fight to box Cotto.

Nevertheless, Vinny Scolpino, Clottey’s manager, said he never even mentioned additional testing to Arum before the fight was made.

“If the commission wants to implement other drug testing rules, let them implement it and we’ll follow them,” Scolpino said. “We abide by the rules that are set forth and we go forward. Look, Manny’s a super champion; we all hope that he’s doing the right thing. And if the commission finds [Pacquiao’s steroid use] in their drug testing, they find it. That’s the way it is.”

Mosley met Mayweather’s demands for Olympic drug testing to secure a fight he has wanted for a long time. But if Mayweather wins their fight May 1 in Las Vegas and Pacquiao overcomes Clottey, Arum assures anyone who’ll listen that a Pacquiao-Mayweather fight won’t get made if Mayweather continues to push for random testing before the fight.

“That is not a topic for negotiation,” Arum said. “That is something for the commission to decide. And then any participant in a boxing match who wants more stringent testing than is applicable in that state can go before commission, present his case and let the commission decide. That’s not for a bunch of amateurs to start talking about, and start making demands. That is wrong. That is what’s called chaos.

“What you have to do, and every fighter has the right to do it … that’s what you have commissions for, you go before the commission and you say, ‘I want such-and-such and such-and-such done on the testing.’ And you let the commissioners decide. That’s what they’re getting paid for, to decide those kinds of questions.”

Clottey, meanwhile, is more focused on figuring out how to neutralize Pacquiao’s speed, Pacquiao’s biggest advantage in their 12-round fight for Pacquiao’s WBO 147-pound title at Cowboys Stadium. If Clottey can do that, throws more punches than usual and pulls off an upset, he knows March 13 won’t represent the last seven-figure payday of his career.

“I’m so happy about this opportunity,” Clottey said. “If I beat Manny Pacquiao, I’ll be so happy. I think I’ll be happy for the whole month, because he’s the best fighter out there. He’s the man now. He’s giving me a chance to fight him, and if I beat him I’m going to be on top of the world.”

Keith Idec covers boxing for The Record and Herald News, of Woodland Park, N.J., and BoxingScene.com.

Source: boxingscene.com

Roach on Mayweather: "We'll knock him out in the ring"; Arum adds "and in court"

By Dennis 'dSource' Guillermo
PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 27 Feb 2010

Just moments ago, Manny Pacquiao together with his trainer Freddie Roach and promoter Bob Arum answered questions from the press in their scheduled Media Conference Call for Pacquiao's upcoming clash against Joshua Clottey in Jerry Jones' highly acclaimed Dallas Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

As much as the topic was Pacquiao vs. Clottey, the interest simply could not be veered off the failed mega-fight between Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. as media members shot questions regarding blood testing and whether a Mayweather fight was crucial to Pacquiao before he ends his boxing career one after the other.

When asked about the impact of Mayweather's PED and HGH comments and allegations on Pacquiao, Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach replied,

"We're not happy with his remarks and Manny really wants to fight him in the future because of the remarks he made. You know Manny sometimes when he's shadow boxing, he shows me how Mayweather fights and how he's going to take care of the problem. I've never seen him do that before and with the allegations he's trying to ruin our reputation and so forth and we do want to fight him and we will knock him out".

After which, promoter Bob Arum interjected and added,

"And we'll knock him out in the court also because that lawsuit continues on and justice will prevail".

As far as Pacquiao is concerned, the number one pound for pound fighter and 7 division world champion simply shrugged it off saying "that's his style and I can't change him because we are different," referring to Mayweather's trash-talking nature. Pacquiao also pointed out that his accomplishments speak for itself and that a fight against Mayweather is not necessary to satisfy him on the legacy he has already left boxing.

When highly respected writer and our prolific friend in New York Michael Marley asked Pacquiao to elaborate on what he meant about what makes him different from Mayweather, Pacquiao responded saying,

"Some fighters like me, we can be great fighters without trash talk and his style, he is talking a lot of trash talk and to be know as Mayweather and all that and that he is a champion," and added, "but he is not a good example for everybody."

Whether Pacquiao will face Mayweather in the ring is something fight fans will just have to continue clamoring and hoping for until it actually happens and both fighters sign on the dotted line. But with this much interest, regardless of what Team Pacquiao and Team Mayweather says, this fight not to happening might very well be the death of boxing. Oh, don't get me wrong with my figurative assessment, Boxing will continue on, but if you can't make the biggest money making fight between the two best fighters of this era happen, then man, shame on all of us involved in this sport.


Dennis 'dSource' Guillermo is a freelance sportswriter. You can contact him by e-mail through dennisguillermo2@yahoo.com. You can also check out his daily column on Filipino Sports at Examiner.com.

Source: PhilBoxing.com

Manny Pacquiao ‘Mayweather is not ready to face me; maybe he’s afraid of me’

Sacramento Fight Sports Examiner | Rick Rockwell

Has Manny Pacquiao started to publicly fight back against the verbal onslaught from the Mayweathers? In a recent interview for the upcoming fight with Clottey, Pacquiao spoke about Floyd Mayweather Jr and why he thought the fight didn’t happen. Let’s examine the quotes from PacMan.


“What I believe is Floyd Mayweather is not ready for this time to face me. That’s why he makes up some reason to control the fight. I feel bad, I feel disappointment, because he’s accusing me of using drugs or whatever and he tries to ruin my name. People know that I always pray to God and do hard work. Maybe he’s afraid of me or maybe he’s afraid for this fight. I’m disappointed for what he’s accusing me and I really feel bad, Manny Pacquiao, Conference Call for Clottey fight

“What I believe is Floyd Mayweather is not ready for this time to face me”

Manny just echoed what many Floyd critics have been saying. They don’t think that Floyd was ready to really face Manny. They think that Floyd sabotaged these contract negotiations because he’s afraid.


“Maybe he’s afraid of me or maybe he’s afraid for this fight.”

There’s a large contingency of people who think Floyd is afraid to fight Manny. In fact, there are several other boxers that Floyd has “avoided” who also think that Floyd was afraid to fight them. Miguel Cotto has publicly questioned Floyd’s choices on past fighters and the fact that that Floyd wouldn’t fight him. Of course, we hade a decade of Shane Mosley saying Floyd was scared too.

Jason Larsen Sacramento, CA “Is this the best Manny can do for trash talking?”

Jason, Manny isn’t a trash talker. He lets his boxing do the talking. In fact, on the same conference call Manny commented on trash talking.

“Some fighters like me, we can be the greatest fighter without trash talk. His style is, you know, he’s talking a lot of trash talk to be known as Mayweather like that, to be known as champion, but it’s not a good example for everybody. We can not change that because we are different.” PacMan

Pete Nelson Sacramento, CA “Why do people say Floyd was scared to fight Manny?”

Floyd has developed a reputation for ducking fighters in the past. People think Floyd continued his ducking by accusing Manny of taking PEDs and then demanding a non-mandatory style of drug testing. Floyd has never made these accusations of Manny before yet the Mayweathers think Manny has been on PEDs for years.

Conclusion

I think the more Manny publicly combats Floyd’s actions and comments, the more positive it will be for Manny. As long as he doesn’t take a page out of Floyd’s “gum bumping” then Manny could really help his cause from a public image standpoint. In regards to these specific comments, I agree with Manny and the rest of the Floyd critics. I do think Floyd is scared to fight Manny and he did whatever he could to destroy these fight talks.

Source: Examiner.com

Manny Says He's Content With Career If Mayweather Fight Doesn't Happen

By Michael Woods

Say it ain't so, Manny.

Please tell us that you aren't going to get sucked into the politics vortex, and let that uglier-than-boxing arena kidnap you, and keep you. At the top of your game, a seven division champion, you aren't going to win a Filipino congressional seat, and bid boxing adieu, are you? Just when we've come to savor your status as a commendable role model for this sport which is in such need of humble, virtuous ambassadors?

The rumor mill has been grinding out rumors that Pacman will exit the sweet science after he fights Joshua Clottey on March 13 in Dallas, and the boxer addressed the issue on a Friday conference call.

"This is my last fight before the election," he said, and left the door fully ajar for pugilism post election. "I'm not going to say I'm going to retire."

Promoter Bob Arum said he'd be OK with Manny hanging up the gloves after the Clottey scrap and that he'd throw the rapidly climbing all-time Pound for Pounder a big ole bash if he decided to wave bye bye. "He's the best fighter I've ever seen," Arum opined. "I'm an old guy so I never saw Marciano, and Sugar Ray Robinson fight in person. And you can't tell much by watching films. But that includes Sugar Ray Leonard, and Ali, and Hagler. Manny's the best fighter I've ever seen." Arum reiterated Manny's anything-is-possible-but-he's-leaning-towards-keeping-on- fighting declaration. "He's leaving his options open."

Let me go on record, and please mark this statement: there ain't no way Manny's leaving after knocking out Clottey. (You can mark that prediction, as well..I'm with Arum on Manny-as-the-best-I've-seen stance, think Pacquiao's untouchable right now, and his hand speed and angles will be befuddling to the Ghanian). Nope..I see Manny going another five or more years. I'm guessing he does too. When asked what sort of fighter could take him down at this stage of his career, Pacquiao pondered and answered, "When I get old."

Now, regarding another matter that continues to hang over this promotion...will I be so bold in stating that I believe Pacquiao-Mayweather will DEFINITELY happen? No..As long as the announced lawsuit versus Team Mayweather is in play, I think that's a severe hurdle to making it happen. It will be hard for Team Pacquiao and Team Mayweather to separate the suit, and the purely boxing elements of the negotiations, if and when they try and hash out a deal again.

I do, however, wonder if the suit actually gets beyond the talk stages, though. Why hasn't the lawsuit been officially filed yet? For the record, two calls to the office of attorney Daniel Petrocelli, repping Pacquiao, were not returned, so I can't say for certain where the suit stands, beyond what Arum says.

Pacquiao says he'll be secure in his legacy if he and Floyd never tangle, and Arum says he too will be able to leave this plane settled if Pacquiao doesn't fight Mayweather. "I'm OK, I'm content," the fighter said when asked if he'd be alright never battling Floyd. "I don't really need to fight Mayweather. My achievements in boxing are enough for me." Now, Roach, I'm not so sure about him. He seems to reeeallly want Manny to shut Floyd's mouth. "I'd like to shut Floyd up, of course," he said on the call. "I know Manny will knock him out, and the whole world would be happy."

My take: don't think for a second that because Pacquiao comes off as an almost angelic figure, always benevolent and beaming, that he's not capable of posturing for leverage. If part of him does think that Mayweather in fact wants to take him down, and hasn't deliberately shot down a fight with his ultra-stringent testing demands, then he'd be smart to send signals to Mayweather that he doesn't crave a battle. A l'il reverse psychology, right? I still haven't determined, and I don't know anyone who has outside of Floyd's inner circle, what his deal is, if he is truly confident of his ability to better Manny, or if his unease with Pacquiao's skill set has lead him to sabotage a showdown..Manny wouldn't publicly declare without reservation that he thinks Floyd fears him, or for whatever reason doesn't want the fight. Like a skilled politician, he said for whatever reason, Floyd doesn't seem like he wants to fight Pacquiao right now. Unlike a politician, he turned down a chance to score a point when he took the high road, and said he was not "angry" at Floyd for insinuating PED usage, but rather was "disappointed." Gosh, Manny is a skilled pol..is there any doubt he's ready for Congress??

The issue of testing..surprise, surprise...popped up. Arum continued to hammer home the point, which I fully embrace, that no fighter should be attempting to co-opt the system, and make unilateral demands above and beyond what the state commissions are adhering too. He likened Mayweather's demands to a situation where the New York Yankees Alex Rodriguez strikes out against a certain Red Sox hurler a bunch of times, and then demands the pitcher be tested for PEDs. No, not a perfect analogy, because Floyd hasn't been whupped by Manny. He's making the demand and muddying the waters with insinuations before he's thrown down. But I'm in Arum's camp on this matter... "It causes chaos," Arum said. "No one has anything against random testing (or non-invasive urinalysis)." But, he continued, why hasn't Golden Boy been similarly stringent in regards to Roy Jones, who has tested positive for steroids ten years ago, and why hasn't Mayweather been as vocal against known PED user Shane Mosley? Because, he suspects, Mayweather may well not want the Pacquiao fight, and he used the is-Manny-dirty ploy to try and get into Manny's mind. If we do get the bout, what happens, Bob? "Manny-Mayweather is a no contest," Arum said. "Pacquiao would wipe the ring of him."

Along those same lines, one reporter asked Manny why he wouldn't accept Floyd's testing parameters, so he could clear his name. This reporter, I think, as a veteran, should know better. Unless Manny were tested on a daily basis, for three months before a bout, until right after the bout, then even if he tested clean, there would still be those who wouldn't be convinced that his rise from 106 to 147 pounds wasn't aided by PED use. If Floyd tells Manny to jump through 100 hoops, and he does so, there will be folks who won't be satisfied until he jumps through 101.

Arum brought up a couple megamatches that didn't come off, even though it looked like they were a given, or were delayed: Bowe-Lewis; Tyson-Foreman; and Tyson-Holyfield. The 78-year-old dealmaker has a most healthy take on the matter: "These things happen." Or...they don't...and the world will keep turning regardless. And compelling matches will continue to get made. But Arum sounded beyond stubborn when he said that no fighter of his, under his watch, would get pushed around at the negotiating table around the issue of PED testing. "Mayweather," he said, "was totally out of line in making demands."

Let's bottom line it, Bob: will Pacquiao-Mayweather happen? Only, the promoter said, if Team Mayweather softens their stance, and trusts in the testing protocols of the commissions.

As of today, February 25, I do not see that happening, people. What about you? Weigh in!

Source: thesweetscience.com

Clottey confident Pacquiao plays by the rules

As the year began, the attention of the boxing world was on the negotiations between Top Rank and Golden Boy, rival promoters who were attempting to finalize the biggest fight in the sport -- a showdown between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr.

We all know by now what happened -- how the fight fell apart over a single issue when the sides wouldn't compromise on drug-testing protocol.

Pacquiao and Mayweather went their separate ways after weeks of one of the more rancor-filled negotiations in recent history.

Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 KOs) quickly came to terms with former welterweight titlist Joshua Clottey (35-3, 20 KOs), who is also promoted by Top Rank, making their deal a snap to finalize. They'll meet for Pacquiao's welterweight title on March 13 (HBO PPV) at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Mayweather ultimately came to terms to challenge welterweight titleholder Shane Mosley for his belt on May 1 (also HBO PPV) at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

The replacement fights certainly have merit. Both shape up as competitive bouts in which all four fighters have reasonable chances to win, even if Pacquiao and Mayweather are the favorites in their respective bouts.

But even with two strong bouts taking the place of Pacquiao-Mayweather, there is still the feeling that the new bouts are merely a consolation. Even Top Rank's Bob Arum can't escape that feeling, although he tried to put a happy face on it.

"Are they consolation prizes? Maybe," Arum said on a media conference call with Clottey to promote the fight with Pacquiao on Thursday. "[Pacquiao-Mayweather] didn't happen for one reason or another. I am not here to cast blame. But it didn't happen and now we have this fight that could go either way that I believe is Manny's toughest fight."

As for the possibility of putting Pacquiao-Mayweather together in the future if each wins, Arum was unsure.

"Life goes on," he said. "That's what these boys fight for. If Joshua beats Manny and Mosley beats Mayweather, maybe we do a Mosley-Clottey fight. That's what makes boxing interesting. If I did a walkover fight like Pacquiao-[Paulie] Malignaggi, which was talked about, then people would say I'm just keeping Pacquiao busy and there is no danger in him losing the fight.

"But there is danger in him losing the fight. Joshua Clottey is a very dangerous fighter. Similarly, maybe Mosley goes back to the fountain of youth that he had for the [Antonio] Margarito fight [13 months ago]. That Mosley could very well beat Mayweather. That's what makes boxing interesting. If these would be walkover fights nobody would give a damn. You'll see fireworks [in Pacquiao-Clottey] and if there is an upset, that's what boxing is all about."

For his part, Clottey sounded happy to be in the position of having the biggest fight -- and first seven-figure payday -- of his career, especially because he is coming off a split-decision loss last summer to Miguel Cotto, who was later battered by Pacquiao in a 12th-round knockout in November.

"I'm coming to do my best," Clottey, a native of Ghana living in New York, said from his training camp in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. "Like I always said, he is a good fighter. He is the best now. This is the test and I am going for the WBO title. I'm going all out. I have my game plan and I always come to fight.

"I am so happy about this opportunity. He's the man now and he is giving me a chance. If I win, I will be on top of the world."

Unlike Mayweather did in the talks for the fight with Pacquiao, Clottey and manager Vinny Scolpino didn't ask for any special drug testing.

"I don't want to do that because I respect him so much," Clottey said. "He's a very nice guy. I feel comfortable around him. He's a nice, classy guy, he respects everybody."

Mayweather and his father, Floyd Mayweather Sr., accused Pacquiao of using performance-enhancing drugs, even though they had no proof.

Clottey said he didn't think Pacquiao was doing anything against the rules.

"I don't think Manny Pacquiao does that," he said. "But if he does, then he is cheating the sport. I don't think he did that steroid thing. I believe that."

Scolpino said additional drug testing never came up in the negotiations with Arum. Of course, Clottey had zero leverage in the talks to demand more testing even if he wanted it.

"If the [Texas] commission wants to implement other drug-testing rules, let them and we will follow it," Scolpino said. "We abide by the rules set forth. Manny is a super champion and we all hope he is doing the right thing. If they find something in the drug testing, that's the way it is.

"We were going to abide by the rules set forth in the state. We're not getting into extra testing. We're professionals in the sport. Joshua is a professional, Manny is a pro. If the commission says do it, we do it."

Arum, who was against additional testing during the Pacquiao-Mayweather talks, agreed with Scolpino.

"My view is that [drug testing] is not a topic for negotiations," Arum said. "That is something for the commission to decide. Any participant in a boxing match who wants more stringent testing than is applicable in that state can go before the commission and ask for it. It's not for amateurs to make a bunch of demands. That is called chaos. Every fighter has the right to go before the commission and say I want such and such done on the testing and you let the commissioners decide. That is what they are getting paid for."

Source: espn.go.com

I cannot underestimate Clottey, says champion Pacquiao

Kieran Mulvaney
WASHINGTON
Fri Feb 26, 2010 3:55pm EST

"Joshua Clottey is taller and bigger than me," Pacquiao told reporters in a conference call on Friday. "He is a former (IBF) champion. I cannot underestimate him."

Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr, widely regarded as the two best pound-for-pound boxers in the world, had been scheduled to fight on March 13.

However, negotiations collapsed when the Filipino refused Mayweather's demands for Olympic-style dope testing procedures.

Pacquiao filed a lawsuit against Mayweather, the American's father Floyd Sr, his uncle Roger and Golden Boy Promotions for falsely accusing him of using performance-enhancing drugs.

"I believe Floyd Mayweather was not ready to fight me," said Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 KOs). "That's why he makes some reasons to cancel the fight.

"I feel bad that he is accusing me of doing drugs, that he tries to ruin my name in boxing. I'm disappointed for what he's accusing me of but I'm not angry at him. That's his style."

After the collapse of the Mayweather fight, Pacquiao turned to Clottey (35-3, 20 KOs).

It is a fight Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach is confident his man will win.

"Clottey's a very strong guy, he's a good puncher," Roach said. "I think his best punch is the uppercut.

"But I have a lot of confidence in my fighter. He's sparring with guys who fight quite a bit like Clottey.

"We have big, strong guys and Manny's handling them with ease. I think we will overwhelm him and I think the fight will end before 12 rounds are over," added Roach.

"I think Manny will be the first to knock him out."

Source: reuters.com

Joshua Clottey in 'Best Shape' of His Career For Manny Pacquiao

2/26/2010 4:52 PM ET By Lem Satterfield

A native of Ghana who is preparing for a March 13 challenge for the WBO welterweight (147 pounds) crown held by seven-division champion, Manny Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 KOs), of the Philippines, Joshua Clottey (35-3, 20 knockouts), of The Bronx, N.Y., spoke to FanHouse on Friday from his sleeping quarters near his training facility at Fort Lauderdale's Contender Gym in Fla.

This is the second of four diaries translated from Clottey that is appearing regularly on FanHouse as the 32-year-old fighter enters the most lucrative and biggest fight of his career.



Joshua Clottey wept, openly, earlier this month when a work Visa to the U.S. was denied to his preferred chief second, Godwin Nii Dzanie Kotey.

Kotey is perceived by many in their native Ghana as legendary and a father figure, having been the trainer for former welterweight star, Ike Quartey, of Ghana. Kotey was to be in Clottey's corner for the first time against Manny Pacquiao.

Kotey's presence was sought after Clottey had split with Kwame Asante in a reported disagreement over money -- this after Asante had served as Clottey's chief second for June's 12-round split-decision loss to then-WBO king, Miguel Cotto.

But now, with the biggest fight of his life on the horizon, Clottey was trainer-less.

Enter Lenny DeJesus (pictured above, left, with Clottey), a man Clottey had known of prior to employing DeJeus as the cutman for the Cotto fight.

A resident of the Bronx, the 32-year-old Clottey had seen DeJesus working with other fighters at the John's Gym, a venue he, himself, frequents that is located not too far from Yankees Stadium.

"I knew of DeJeus, but I didn't talk to him. Vinnie introduced me to him," said Clottey, referring to his manager, Vinnie Scolpino. "So he was used as a cut man in my fight with Miguel Cotto because he's been around for a long time. He seemed like a good choice."

Clottey said that DeJesus turned out to be even more of an asset during the fight with Cotto,

"When he was my cut man against Miguel Cotto, he pushed me. He sort of wakes you up, tells me some good things. We established a good relationship during the Cotto fight, so I chose him" to be primary trainer for the Pacquiao fight, said Clottey. "It was an easy transition. He motivates you."

Another advantage, said Clottey, is the fact that DeJesus knows a little bit about Pacquiao, having worked as the Filipino superstar's cut man throughout much the early part of his career.

DeJesus was last in Pacquiao's corner for the latter's March, 2005 loss to Erik Morales at super featherweight (130 pounds), after which Pacquiao won his next 11 bouts, eight of them by knockout.

A southpaw, Pacquiao has gotten more-and-more powerful as his weight has risen, having stopped his past four opponents, David Diaz, Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, and, Miguel Cotto, respectively, while weighing 134, 142, 138, and, 144 pounds.

"Does DeJesus know a little bit about Manny Pacquiao? Yes," said Scolpino. "But we also know that Manny Pacquiao is a different fighter now than he once was. We're prepared, but we're preparing for the Manny Pacquiao of today."

Clottey said that his respect for Pacquiao's power is among the reasons he will dethrone him.

"I have more confidence this time around because I'm taking this fight like if I win, I have bigger things ahead. I have so much respect for Manny, so that gives me more confidence because I respect the guy," said Clottey. "I respect the guy because, if he has the chance, he can stop me. So I respect him because of that, and because of that, I'm more confident."

Conversely, said Clottey, it was his lack of respect for Cotto that led to his demise.

"When I went to fight Cotto, I knew, within me, or at least my thinking was, 'I could beat Cotto because I knew Cotto had not faced a guy like me before.' That was my thinking," said Clottey.

"I didn't respect him like he was going to cause any damage," said Clottey. "So, compared to that, I respect this guy, Manny Pacquiao, because he's stopped a lot of good guys. So, I'm giving him respect, and the respect will carry me through the fight."

Clottey, who weighed out at 154 pounds on Thursday, claims to be in the best shape of his life, and punching with more power than ever.

"We're two weeks from the fight, and that's where I want to be right now. I don't want to come down too much or too fast from sparring because that might hurt you," said Clottey.

"I eat a lot of chicken and a lot of fish. It's African food. I don't eat any other meat," said Clottey. "Sometimes, I have salads -- things that make me strong and to wake up in the morning and go jogging, or which can make me go to the gym and work out. I drink a lot of water and I'm very strong in the gym at work."

In photos, the challenger (pictured above) appears to have a more muscular upper body than ever.

"This is the best shape that I've ever been in. Because, I know that I've got a really tough fight with Manny, Pacquiao. All that you've seen from my photos is from the hard work of training," said Clottey, who a week ago, already was sparring 10, four-minute rounds with a 30 second rest in between and little if any fatigue.

"You know, I'm always in shape. I train even when I'm not fighting," said Clottey. "I play soccer. So when I start training, it doesn't take long. After a three weeks or a month, I'm strong."

And that, for Clottey, has meant more energy during sparring sessions, and, throughout his training overall.

"I've been trainig to do what I have to do. When the opening's there, I'm going to find them. When he's running, and he's moving around, I'll be able to cut off the ring," said Clottey. "When he stops running, I'll throw punches. And when I throw a punch, and he's there, I will be able to land it."

There are some who have questioned Pacquiao's ability to rise from one weight class to another with power, believing that he is on steroids or some other performance-enhancing drug.

Clottey, however, said that he is not among those who believes Pacquiao is dirty.

"Manny is a good man. He prays a lot. God gave him his power. He is a great champion, and this is going to be a difficult fight," said Clottey. "However, I have a plan: Hard punching, back him up, don't let him take charge. I will pressure him."

Source: boxing.fanhouse.com