Who's next for Pacman?

DALLAS, Texas — The identity of Manny Pacquiao’s next opponent would be known after the May elections in the Philippines.

“I will decide who to fight next after the elections,” said Pacquiao moments after beating Joshua Clottey of Ghana in a 12-round lopsided decision Saturday at the Cowboys Stadium.

Pacquiao is running for the lone congressional seat of Sarangani province against a scion of a wealthy and influential clan in Roy Chiongbian in May.

Top Rank chief Bob Arum, who holds the promotional rights over Pacquiao, went to the reporters at ringside and told them “it’s Pacquiao’s call when to fight next.”

Still, Arum is eyeing a return to the ring for the Filipino star in November.

And if it happens in November, the leading candidate would not necessarily be Floyd Mayweather, who has a May 1 date with Shane Mosley.

By: NICK GIONGCO
Source: mb.com.ph

Manny Pacquiao vs Joshua Clottey Fight Pictures

PHOTOS BY: (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Pacquiao beats Clottey to keep WBO welterweight crown

DALLAS, Texas — Filipino superstar Manny Pacquiao easily defeated Joshua Clottey by unanimous 12-round decision to retain his World Boxing Organization welterweight title at Cowboys Stadium.

Pacquiao, recently named Fighter of the Decade, ran his win streak to 12 straight fights with a dominating performance in front of a crowd of more than 50,000 at the 1.2 billion-dollar home of American football's Dallas Cowboys.

Pacquiao's punishing assault was reflected on all three judges scorecards as he won by totals of 120-108, 119-109 and 119-109.

"This fight is dedicated to all of you, especially to the people in the Philippines," Pacquiao told the crowd from the center of the ring.

This marked the second consecutive true welterweight fight for Pacquiao, who was the heavy favourite despite giving away a 10-pound advantage to Clottey.

Clottey, who barely threw a punch through the first few rounds, proved to be an easy target for Pacquiao, who was the more aggressive fighter through all 12 rounds.

Pacquiao was frustrated by Clottey's defense and the challenger's decision to cover up and not throw more punches than he did.

"Clottey is not an easy opponent he is very strong," Pacquiao said. "He took a lot of punches and was never hurt."

In the fourth round, Pacquiao tried to get Clottey to come out of his defensive shell and at one point tapped both of Clottey's gloves in a failed attempt to get him to trade blows.

Pacquiao, 51-3 with two drawn and 38 knockouts, has looked unstoppable in his previous three fights against opponents who were willing to engage him in the middle of the ring.

Clottey, who fell to 35-4, lasted all 12 rounds with a game plan that included counter-punching and covering up. By the middle rounds it was apparent Pacquiao had a victory sewn up.

Pacquiao, who last lost to Erik Morales in March of 2005, defended his title on the same date he was to face unbeaten American Floyd Mayweather before negotiations broke off over a drug-testing dispute.

With Clottey out the way, Saturday's victory could set the stage to reopen talks between Pacquiao and Mayweather's camp.

"I want that fight because the people want to see that fight," Pacquiao said.

"Right now I am so happy because of the support I have from my fans. This is the first fight in my career where there is a lot people coming."

But first, Pacquiao plans to try his luck at politics and run for a congressional seat in the Philippine national election in May. He ran for Congress in 2007 but failed to get elected.

The fight, part of the first boxing card at the stadium, was watched by one of the largest crowds in US boxing history at the state-of-the art facility which opened last year.

By: Greg Heakes
Source: AFP

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.

Soto edges Diaz; Duddy wins

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Humberto Soto, a reigning junior lightweight titleholder, moved up from 130 to 135 pounds to outslug and outbox former titleholder David Diaz to claim a vacant lightweight title via unanimous decision on Saturday night.

The fight was the co-feature on the Manny Pacquiao-Joshua Clottey undercard before an excited crowd of 50,994 Saturday night at Cowboys Stadium.

Soto (51-7-2, 32 KOs), 33, of Mexico, bookended the victory with knockdowns in the first and 12th rounds.

The fight started with a bang as they clashed heads in the opening round. Soto was shaken up and Diaz was cut, but later in the round, Soto knocked Diaz down with a counter left hand.

Soto fired combinations throughout the fight while the slower Diaz (35-3-1, 17 KOs), 33, of Chicago, tried to get out of the way and little success landing anything meaningful in return.

Soto, who will likely vacate his 130-pound title, also scored a knockdown on a flurry in the final seconds of the fight to punctuate his victory.

Two judges had it 117-109 for Soto and the third had it 115-111 for Diaz.

"I think Diaz being left-handed was a little more difficult than I thought it would be, but I was able to control the fight," Soto said. "I just couldn't hit him as hard as I wanted. He's a real tough guy."

Diaz was fighting for only the second time since losing his lightweight belt to Pacquiao via lopsided ninth-round knockout in June 2008. In his next fight, Diaz scored a majority decision against former titleholder Jesus Chavez in September 2009, a win that hardly should have qualified him to fight for that belt again.

"I'm very disappointed," Diaz said. "It wasn't supposed to be this way. In the last round, that was no knockdown. I missed the punch [and went down]."

Gomez makes Castillo quit

Welterweight Alfonso Gomez (22-4-2, 11 KOs), younger, quicker and fresher, beat Mexican countryman Jose Luis Castillo (60-10-1, 52 KOs) to the punch all night until he quit after the fifth round.

Castillo then announced his retirement.

"I want to apologize to the public and I am definitely announcing my retirement because I don't have it anymore," said Castillo, the former two-time lightweight champ whose 2005 10th-round knockout loss to Diego Corrales is considered perhaps the greatest fight in boxing history.

Castillo, 36 and years past his prime, couldn't get off as Gomez, who starred in the first season of "The Contender," peppered him nearly at will. Castillo's right eye began to swell in the third round and his nose was also bloody.

Gomez kept him on the outside and moved just enough to prevent Castillo from landing anything serious. When the fifth round was over, Castillo returned to his corner with a look of resignation before referee Kenny Bayless waived it off at the request of the corner.

"I just don't have it anymore," Castillo said. "This guy is hitting me with both hands and there was nothing I could do. I can't hit him back. It's frustrating."

Gomez, 29, won his fourth in a row following his fifth-round knockout loss to then-welterweight titlist Miguel Cotto in 2008 and put himself in position for a bigger fight.

"I practiced a lot with [prospect] Brandon Rios and he pushed me hard like we thought Castillo would try to do," Gomez said. "I respect Castillo a lot. He has given us all entertaining fights. We thought he would pressure us, but he couldn't because I was hitting him with good shots."

• Middleweight John Duddy (29-1, 18 KOs) took a split decision from Mexico's Michael Medina (23-2-2, 18 KOs) to set up a possible return to Cowboys Stadium.

Duddy, an Ireland native living in New York, and Medina, who was making his United States debut, mixed up throughout the fight but Duddy got the better of the exchanges, including landing numerous hard right hands.

Medina didn't help himself when he was warned multiple times for low blows before referee Robert Chapa docked him a point for the infraction in the eighth round.

Two judges had it 96-93 for Duddy and the third had it 96-93 for Medina.

Duddy won his third in a row since an upset loss to Billy Lyell 11 months ago.

Top Rank put Duddy on the card to expose him to the considerable Hispanic community because it has designs on matching him with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. later this year. That's a fight Top Rank's Bob Arum and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones have discussed as a headliner for a future card at Cowboys Stadium.

Before that Duddy will fight on Top Rank's June 5 card at Yankee Stadium with the fight against Chavez tentatively slated for the fall.

• Junior featherweight Roberto Marroquin (13-0, 10 KOs) showcased himself in front of his hometown fans as he blew out Samuel Sanchez (4-2-1, 0 KOs) for a knockout at 1:36 of the second round.

Marroquin, one of Top Rank's most important prospects, entered wearing Dallas Cowboys colors and exited after dropping Sanchez twice times for the knockout. He knocked Sanchez down in the first round with a left and finished him in the second with a pair of overhand rights that badly buckled Sanchez before he fell to the canvas as referee Bayless called it off without a count.

• Featherweight Salvador Sanchez (19-3-2, 9 KOs), the nephew of the Hall of Famer and former featherweight champ with the same name, knocked out Jaime Villa (8-8-2, 3 KOs) using a heavy body attack in the sixth round.

Mexico's Sanchez, 24, dominated Villa and knocked him down in the fifth round. In the sixth round, Sanchez's withering body attack took its toll. He scored a knocked and Villa barely beat the count. Moments later another left to the body knocked him down to a knee for the full 10 count as the fight ended at 1 minute, 9 seconds.

• Junior featherweight Eden Sonsona (19-5, 6 KOs) of the Philippines dominated former junior flyweight titlist Mauricio Pastrana (35-13-2, 24 KOs) of Colombia en route to a brutal eighth-round knockout in the scheduled eight-rounder. Sonsona, who had dropped the smaller Pastrana earlier in the fight, sent him crashing to the canvas in the a minute or so into the eighth round. A shaky Pastrana survived but Sonsona connected with a flush left to the head and Pastrana fell almost in slow motion before smashing his head on the canvas as the fight was immediately called off at 1 minute, 33 seconds.

By: Dan Rafael
Source: hsports.espn.go.com

ARLINGTON, Texas -Greetings, Boxing Blog fans. The Blog is here at the awe inspiring Cowboys Stadium, where at about 11:30 ET Manny Pacquiao will defend his WBO welterweight title against former 147-pound champion Joshua Clottey. If you can't buy the fight on Pay Per View, don't worry: The Blog will fill you in on everything that's happening here in Texas.

Couple of things before we get started:

• Cowboys Stadium truly is an industrial work of art, a Picasso if Pablo's tool of choice was a jackhammer and not a paintbrush. The white bubble can be seen off of Industrial Rd. from miles away and, as so many reporters have noted this week, the 160-by-72 foot screen hanging from the rafters is a jaw-dropping spectacle. They expect close to 45,000 fans to pack in here for this fight and I don't see any possibility that the venue won't be a smashing success.

• I've spoken to Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach, several times this week and each time I've come away with the feeling that Roach isn't too concerned about Clottey.

"[Clottey] could come out and tries to impose his size and strength," Roach told SI.com. "That's what I would do. Or he could go to the ropes and try and get Manny to tire himself out. And that's not going to happen. Manny is in great shape. If he does come forward in straight lines, doesn't use a lot of lateral movement and starts reaching for us, Manny's counterpunching is going to be a big part of this fight. [Clottey] doesn't throw with you. You throw your combination and stand in front of him, he'll hit you back. But we're not going to stand in front of him. Our game plan is pretty simple actually. When his feet are square, he's resting and you can attack. When his feet are planted, he's setting you up. We know when to attack that and when not to. It's about turning the fighter and keeping him off balance.

"There are holes there. His passive defense is not hard to break. The body attack is essential in this fight because he doesn't protect his body that well. I know he has a good chin but I think we can break him down with the body shots. We worked on that quite a bit. We're not going to stand in and take swings at him. We're a little smarter than that.

"His habits are that he doesn't chase punches, he just puts the earmuffs on," Roach continued. "If you go with the hook a little deeper, you get him to block that and open his chin up. That shot through the center is open and that's Manny's best punch. That's Manny's favorite punch. Clottey waits for the flurry to end before he throws because he's coming up. That's good amateur defense but it's not going to work in the pro's with a good fighter. A passive defense like that with no counterpunches is not a way to win a fight."

"I think we can stop this guy. I don't think we can knock him down. I think we can overwhelm him. He's been in with some big punchers and been pretty solid. But I think we can stop him. The punch that will get you is the one you don't see coming. When you work from angles its much more effective than being right in front of the guy."

• Not a lot of people are giving Clottey much of a chance. I chatted with a friend of Shane Mosley earlier this week, and Mosley is convinced that Clottey will be little more than a sparring partner. I also have a lot of doubts about Clottey because he doesn't seem convinced he can win this fight. There's been a lot of "if I win's" out of his mouth this week, and that's a warning sign for me.

We'll be back closer to the start of the main event to bring you some atmosphere from the fight and then bring you detailed, round-by-round coverage of the fight.

Source: sportsillustrated.cnn.com

The Event Live Streaming

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Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao vs Joshua "The Grandmaster" Clottey is dubbed as The Event. The fight will happen on March 13, 2010 at Jerry Jones' Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Arlington Texas. This fight is promoted by Bob Arum of Top Rank and available live at HBO Pay Per View.