Clottey aims to slow down speedy Pacquiao

MANILA, Philippines – Joshua Clottey of Ghana seems to be unthreatened by his match-up against the only 7-division world champion and pound-for-pound king, Manny Pacquiao, on March 13 at the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

“Manny Pacquiao is a human being, like everyone else. He's just a really good fighter who is out there now who is No. 1 now,” Clottey told Lem Satterfield of Fanhouse.com.

“If I win this fight against Manny Pacquiao, I will never feel like I beat the best fighter in the world,” he said. “I will feel like I had a fight with Manny Pacquiao, the best fighter out there, and I won.”

He also clarified that just in case he wins on March 13, people should not regard his victory as an upset.

“I'll say, ‘It's not an upset, but a win,’” the Ghanaian stated.

But before the 33-year-old Clottey talks about his possible triumph over Pacquiao, he knows that he first has to overcome the World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight champion.

He said he plans to beat Pacquiao by connecting his shots and wearing him down.

“I can't throw a lot of punches like Pacquiao will do. But I will connect enough to make him slow down and wear down, and bring his speed down,” he shared.

“I will also rely on my pressure. But I don't know what Pacquiao is coming to do, so I have to use my head. I don't know if he's planning to move around. But I'm not going to make him chase me. I will be right there.”

Happy with training

Clottey, meantime, was more positive about his ongoing training camp in Florida.

“I went to Ghana to try get a visa for my trainer, and it didn't work out for Godwin Kotey. I think that was three weeks ago, and I've moved on. I'm training with Lenny DeJesus, we're training hard, and we're very happy,” he said.

He added that his training has been going very well: “I'm in shape. I want to prove to the whole world that this [is] a fight that I can win, and that they should be careful not to write me off.”

The 31-year-old Pacquiao is said to be feeling great about his training camp in Los Angeles, California.

Conditioning coach Alex Ariza told Ronnie Nathanielsz of Philboxing.com that the Filipino boxing superstar was “feeling good and Freddie was obviously happy and had a smile on his face and when they are happy, I am happy.”

He noted that they cannot ask for anything more from Pacquiao as he showed “amazing speed and power and is ready to go anytime.”

Pacquiao has a record of 50-3-2, with 38 KOs while Clottey, a former International Boxing Federation (IBF) welterweight titleholder, has a record of 35-3, with 20 knockouts. – With reports from PhilBoxing.com and Fanhouse.com.

Source: abs-cbnnews.com