Pacquiao in peak form to clobber Clottey

Source: Manila Times
Manny “PacMan” Pacquiao is peaking at the right time for his world welterweight title defense against Joshua Clottey on March 13 at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium, according to his trainer Freddie Roach.

Roach said Monday (Tuesday in Manila) that Pacquiao, who has boxed 12 rounds every other day last week, will begin tapering off on his sparring starting Tuesday with just 12 days before his first defense of the World Boxing Organization welterweight title he won on November 14, 2009 from Miguel Cotto.

On Saturday, Roach said Pacquiao sparred for four rounds each with unbeaten welterweight Abdullai Amidu (18-0, 17 by knock outs) of Ghana; junior welterweight title prospect Mike Dallas (11-0-1, two KOs) of Bakersfield, California; and welterweight contender Steve Forbes (34-7, 10 KOs), a former world junior lightweight champion, of Las Vegas, Nevada.

Roach said his prized student is “looking very sharp and is expected to be in tip-top shape” by fight night on the 13th.

“Manny reported to training camp in shape as he always, and I think he is ready to go,” said Roach, a four-time Trainer of the Year.

Roach said the choice of sparring partners for Pacquiao, the reigning best boxer in the world pound-for-pound, reflects Team Pacquiao’s respect for Clottey, who has never been stopped in his career.
“I keep saying that Clottey is not an easy fight,” Roach said. “He is a tough, strong and competitive fighter. And he has held his own against some of the best welterweights—[Miguel] Cotto, [Antonio] Margarito—and he beat actually [former undisputed welter champ] Zab Judah.”

However, Roach said Team Pacquiao has come up with a game plan for Pacquiao to break Clottey down and possibly stop the Ghanaian star in the late rounds.

As of Monday night (Tuesday in Manila), online betting odds have further widened in Pacquiao’s favor, from 5-1 to 6.5-1.

Bodog.com put Pacquiao a minus 650 betting favorite, which means a $650 wager on PacMan wins $100. In contrast, a $100 bet on Clottey nets $450.

The odds with SportsBook.com are slightly less stiff. To win a $100 bet on Pacquiao, one needs $625 capital; while a $100 wager on Clottey wins $425.

As of Friday, Top Rank Promotions chief executive Bob Arum, who is co-promoting the fight with Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, said only 8,000 of the 45,000-capacity reconfigured boxing arena were still available.

Arum said he expects a sell-out fight because the remaining tickets are selling very fast.

Pacquiao and Clottey are expected to hit Dallas for the big fight billed as “The Event” by March 8.