Please Share

Search This Blog

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Live blog of Pacquiao-Clottey


Manny Pacquiao and Joshua Clottey are battling in Texas. Steve Bien-Aime is blogging all the action.

Clottey makes his way to the ring. He looks composed, but he doesn't look entirely relaxed. A question that needs to be answered is how does Clottey handle the big stage?

Pacquiao is next. He looks a little more serious than in his previous fights, but he again has a giant smile on his face. He slaps hands with a few fans. Cowboys Stadium is definitely the right venue for Pacquiao.

Round 1

Very cautious start. Clottey is fighting a very defensive fight. He's landing the jab — when he decides to throw it, which is infrequently. Pacquiao is struggling to break Clottey's guard. Pacquiao is dedicated to hitting Clottey's body. Pacquiao is the initiator so far.

Round 2

Pacquiao continues to press Clottey, who's really not doing too much. Clottey is landing some stiff shots, but neither fighter is making a big impression yet. However, Pacquiao's aggressiveness is the story of the fight.

Round 3

Both fighters are starting to land a little bit more. If Clottey thinks he'll finish Pacquiao with one big shot, he's wrong. Pacquiao's body work could pay big dividends later. Clottey's just not doing enough.

Round 4

Clottey went through a minute stretch where he didn't throw any punches. Pacquiao continues to pound away, but he's not landing much cleanly. Clottey finishes the round with a big flourish, but he appears to be falling far behind on the scorecards.

Round 5

It's not looking good for Clottey. Pacquiao took his foot off the gas and he still looks like he won the round. Clottey is landing crisp punches, but one or two at every 30 seconds won't beat Pacquiao. Clottey has got to let his hands go.

Round 6

Clottey is fighting his fight and is losing badly. He's not hurt, but Pacquiao is dominating with his whirlwind style. In this round, Clottey didn't land anything of value.

Round 7

Pacquiao again looks like he took the round off and dominated. Clottey needs to bull Pacquiao against the ropes and let his hands go. The crowd of 51,000 has been pretty quiet. I can't blame them. One guy is fighting, the other one wants to just go the distance.

Round 8

A headbutt and a low blow were the most eventful action. Pacquiao chased Clottey around the ring, breaking his guard a bit. Clottey looked like he threw two punches in the final 45 seconds. Does he know this is the biggest opportunity of his life?

Round 9

Pacquiao is fighting in bursts and even that's impressive. I think he knows a knockout won't come, but he's giving the fans a show with some nice combinations. It looks like Clottey knows he won't win either.

Round 10

All the credibility Clottey got from his June fight with Miguel Cotto is out the window. He's not doing anything. Pacquiao is continuing to swarm Clottey and his accuracy is improving. Pacquiao must be in phenomeonal condition. He's still going strong.

Round 11

What a display by Pacquiao! Clottey tried to step it up and Pacquiao showed him why's the best the in the world. The combinations and aggression are too much for Clottey.

Round 12

Clottey might have done enough to avoid a shutout. There's only one fight we want to see and this wasn't it.

Duane Ford had it 120-108, Levi Martinez, 119-109, and, Nelson Vazquez, 119-109, all for Manny Pacquiao by unanimous decision.



No comments:

Post a Comment