HOLLYWOOD—Did Joshua Clottey know in advance the traps laid out by Manny Pacquiao during The Event on Saturday?
Trainer Freddie Roach said this may be the only reason the Ghanaian fought like he just wanted to avoid a knockout during their World Boxing Organization welterweight title duel.
Pacquiao was well ahead on all scorecards—even of those covering the fight—and Clottey still refused to engage the Filipino despite pleadings from his corner to start taking chances.
As much as the ploy disappointed the crowd of 50,944 who trooped to the Cowboys Stadium, it also saved Clottey from being Pacquiao’s fifth straight knockout victim.
“I knew our best chance of knocking Clottey out would be to catch him when he’s throwing a punch,” Roach told TheSweetScience.com Sunday. “The instant Manny saw him start to throw his jab he was supposed to catch him with a hook on top of it.”
Roach became more intrigued by Clottey’s announcements that he doesn’t watch tapes and yet he was clearly familiar with the plan.
The four-time Trainer of the Year said the leak probably came from Pacquiao’s Ghanaian sparring partner, Abdullai Amidu.
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