411 Boxing Roundtable: Pacquiao vs. Clottey

Posted by Ramon Aranda on 03.13.2010

It’s fight night and our staff has gotten together to discuss the ins and outs from both fighters’ perspectives and ultimately we get down to our predictions. Check it out to get the full breakdown of the fight before tuning in later tonight for our live round by round blog!


Photos by Chris Farina / Top Rank


Check back with us tonight at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT for our Live Coverage

We're only hours away from the big fight at the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium, but before that kicks off, we've got a little roundtable breakdown coming at you. Apologies for it not going up on Friday morning as some technical difficulties on my end prevented it from going up.

Needless to say the staff is pumped up so let's get to business.

From the start, mostly in part by the letdown of a fight w/Mayweather not happening, there's been some criticism about watching Manny Pacquiao tangle with Joshua Clottey. I want to go around the table and first get your initial thoughts to the announcement and finally what you think of it now; if your opinions have changed.

Ali Shakoor - My initial thought was that Clottey was being used as a pawn in a last ditch effort to make Mayweather agree to Manny's ideas on the blood testing crap. Once the Mayweather negotiations ended, and Clottey was indeed named as Manny's next opponent, I thought it was a terribly matchup for him. High risk, low reward. We as fans will witness one hell of a fight though. My opinions haven't changed.

Ryan Bates - I think then what I think now -- it was a nice slap in the face to Team Mayweather. By quickly announcing that Pacquiao will fight the always-solid and tough Clottey, it was saying, "Manny doesn't need you, Floyd. You need Manny." Although I do think Manny will handily win, Clottey is not someone who's a pushover. Clottey has a chin of stone and will not go down easily. In fact, he could do something very rare and hang all 12 rounds with the Pac-Man.

Joe Roche - When the fight was announced I hated it. As a matter of fact I wrote a pretty lengthy article about how much I hated this fight, not just for the match up but for the location and really everything else about it - and I haven't changed my opinion much of late. I don't take away anything from Joshua Clottey but the fact is that Clottey lost to Cotto who got decimated by Pacquiao, it's very tough to envision any scenario playing out where Clottey doesn't lose worse then Cotto, and frankly nothing about that entices me to pay $60 for the pay per view (I roll HD folks no standard fuzz for me).

Jonathan Yaghoubi - I was initially pumped at seeing a possible Mayweather/Pacquiao showdown because this would have been the biggest fight in boxing in quite a long time. It would have been a fight that would define an era. However, drug testing postponed this mega-fight and both men had to move on.

When I heard that Manny was going to fight Clottey, I was little surprised but excited at the same time. I am surprised that Pacquiao would take on such a tough opponent in Clottey since there is a chance that a fight with Floyd can still happen in the future. But I am excited because Manny is showing what kind of fighting champion he really is by taking this fight. This is going to be a real exciting and competitive fight. I am also happy for Clottey because he really did hit the lottery by getting this fight. Clottey validated himself as a true performer against Miguel Cotto and there is no reason to believe that he won't be a worthy adversary for Pacquiao this weekend. I just don't think this fight is going to go the way the past few Pacquiao fights have gone and that prospect alone pumps me up to see this fight.

Igor Frank - At first I thought:" Good riddance!" The fight with Clottey will be more entertaining than with Mayweather; there will be more offense and more punches thrown and not much running around. But as the time approaches for a fight with Clottey and not many people giving Joshua a good chance to win, I hope that both Pacquiao and Mayweather win their respective fights so that we could have a boxing Superbowl (Pacquiao vs. Mayweather) later on this year.

FJ Parlan - Perhaps an opinion of many of us boxing analysts, the fight constitutes as a "high risk, low reward" proposition for Pacquiao. Our own Ali Shakoor touched on that in his latest column. I know some of you will also point out that he should have instead faced junior middleweight titlist Yuri Foreman. But my opinion on this was as well discussed in my column Clottey is a way to stick it to Mayweather. Because I felt that it was, and that's what I thought. At the time of the decision to grant Clottey a date with the Pac-Man, everyone else who matters highly in the welterweight division already had a dance partner, so Pacquiao's supposed-to-be opponent was left with no one acceptable to face (that, of course, is until the Shane Mosley-Andre Berto fight was canceled). The reward may not necessarily equal the risk, but that's just how some fighters are. From a business standpoint, this isn't a sound practical decision, but like Pacquiao always says, the fighter's role is to train and fight, and not take part with these issues. Plus, it will be a great fight.

Looking at his track record, I think it's safe to suggest that Clottey is a solid 147-pounder and has not been an easy task even for those who have wins over him (Cotto, Margarito, Baldomir)…is that safe assumption?

Ali Shakoor - Exactly, I don't want to parrot everything that I wrote in my 3/4/10 column, but yeah, Clottey is a legit top 5 welterweight, and capable of beating anyone on any given night. With his defense, strong chin, pride, and straight compact punching I think Manny is in for a rough night.

Ryan Bates - I agree!

FJ Parlan - He's more than solid. Not on the level that the last three opponents of Pacquiao, but Clottey's very good. A top five welterweight, the best choice left when the decision was made, and Pacquiao has a chance to be the only man who defeats him decisively. Clottey was disqualified against former legit welterweight champion Baldomir, was essentially a "no-hand fighter" against pre-plastergate Margarito (that's according to the legendary Bert Sugar, in a fight where he was also doing well), and got the short shrift of a controversial decision against Cotto. Even Pacquiao, who was on the ringside for the Cotto-Clottey fight at MSG, thought that Clottey won that fight. So, there's still some challenge left for the pound-for-pound king, and it's a huge one.

Joe Roche - I mean there is no doubt that Clottey is a very good 147 pounder and at the time he was the best available option if you're only guide was the Ring Magazine official welterweight rankings. However, even though he's always a tough opponent for top guys - he loses to them. He's the definition of a gate keeper - he'll beat up fringe contenders or past their prime guys but the cream of the crop will find ways to beat Joshua Clottey and that's why I'm not that excited about the prospects of this fight.

Igor Frank - Clottey is a very strong and big welterweight with good speed and power and all around boxing skills, but he does not throw enough punches to be competitive in this fight. The only way he could win if he is able to hurt Pacman and stop him.

Jonathan Yaghoubi - I would have to agree with this statement 100 percent. Many people felt that he deserved the decision over Cotto and you really can't argue much against it. There was a point from rounds 5-9 that Clottey dominated Cotto and frustrated him with his rock hard defense.

Another testament to Clottey is his 12-round fight with Antonio Margarito. Margarito threw a CompuBox record of 1,765 punches and didn't even appear to stun Clottey. He broke his hand in the fourth round in that fight and ended up losing a closer than expected unanimous decision. He had demonstrated his abilities against a good opponent. I don't even count the loss to Baldomir since it was by DQ and it was controversial. The point is that Clottey is one tough cookie.

Clearly with Mayweather's steroid allegations and back and forth bickering, Floyd is obviously still on Pacquiao's mind, as admitted by Freddie Roach. That being said, what is the likelihood that he's not focused 100% on Clottey? Will this hurt him in the fight?

Igor Frank - Pacquiao has had a lot of distractions for most of his recent fights; he has a big entourage living with him when he trains and he has a lot of things going on all at once, but when he gets into a gym, it's like he enters his temple, nothing but boxing matters and he is able to zero in on the task at hand.

Joe Roche - Manny Pacquiao's life is a circus. There is a good chance that he hasn't been 100% focused on an opponent since he beat De La Hoya and that hasn't stopped him. If a typhoon and killer mudslides can't derail Manny Pacquiao then one loud mouthed self promoter won't derail him.

Jonathan Yaghoubi - If Pacquiao isn't 100% over Mayweather yet, he will lose this fight. Focus is the key when you are talking about two professional boxers throwing hands. It was such a circus of the negotiations of the Floyd Mayweather, Jr-Manny Pacquiao fight, that it would be hard for Pacquiao not to have Money in the middle of his mind.

If Manny's head is right and void of Mayweather in there, he should win a decision in a very good fight. However, even a consummate professional such as Pacquiao is still a human being, and is vulnerable to his mind not being cooperative with his body. But I know that he has the best trainer in the sport in Freddie Roach. You know Freddie keeps Pacquiao focused for every single time he gets in that ring which makes him so successful. Roach knows that Pacquiao can let down for this fight and that is why he is there to make sure it won't happen.

Ryan Bates - First off, can we use the technical term for Mayweather's steroid allegations, which would be "lies?" Thanks. Manny being distracted from his fight with Clottey, that's probably a fair assumption. But then again, Manny is the master of fighting distracted. Being a demi-god amongst the Philippine nation, it's hardly possible for him to be 100% on anything ever. But make no mistake, on fight night only one thing will be on his mind.

Ali Shakoor - I think Manny and Roach are solid, focused pros. I think both will be totally focused on Clottey on March 13th. Team Pacquiao is over Mayweather for now, and maybe forever.

FJ Parlan - The likelihood that he's not 100% focused on Clottey is 0%. Sure, we can assume that Pacquiao still thinks of Mayweather, or hates him even, but the same source (Roach) has told us time and time again how Pacquiao just extremely focuses on his fights, how he is able to eradicate all possible distractions (e.g. Mayweather and co.) and just take care of the training and the task of hand. Also, Roach, on behalf of Pacquiao in many interviews, has said that if Mayweather wins his May 1 bout against Mosley and refuses to fight Pacquiao (if he wins his fight against Clottey), then Pacquiao will retire. So basically there's not necessarily anyone to look past Clottey and not focusing 100% on what could be your last fight, against a dangerous opponent, would be a huge mistake.

OK now let's get a little bit into the event itself. Taking place at the huge Dallas Cowboys Stadium. We hear ticket sales have been great and a large turnout is expected. What are your thoughts on the decision to stage the fight at this venue?

Igor Frank - Staging this bout at Cowboys new Stadium is great for fans as it gives them an opportunity to see their hero live as opposed to it being in Las Vegas with most of the tickets distributed by casinos to big gamblers.

Ryan Bates - I dunno. Bob Arum's early fights were at baseball stadiums, so he's got some weird fascination by boxing in stadiums. That's all well and good, I guess. I just don't see what this gains from being at a venue like Cowboys Stadium. I mean, if you're insistent on not having this fight in Las Vegas, why not do it in LA, where Manny has a huge Filipino following, and those who don't live there have a reason to stay. After the fights, you check out Hollywood, Disneyland, the beach, etc. What do you do after Dallas, herd cattle?

Joe Roche - Epic fail to steal a phrase from two years ago that everyone hates now. 40,000 tickets is an AMAZING goal to set for this fight, but that's still about 60,000 tickets less than the building would hold for a football game. When you add in the fact that there should be PLENTY more room for boxing then football we're looking at roughly 100,000 empty seat spots that won't be filled. I don't care how you tape off sections Cowboys Stadium should sound incredibly empty because it will be incredibly empty even with a record setting crowd. I expect to hear lots of piped into crowd noise as if this was happening during a Colts game.

Ali Shakoor - I think it's an awesome idea. I can't remember the last time I saw a fight in an American football stadium. It's going to have a different look, sound and feel from what we're used to. I'm so stoked about it.

FJ Parlan - First of all, it's nice that Arum has delivered on one of his grand promises. It's also nice that he threw a bone to Jerry Jones' way of at least giving him this fight after deciding not to stage Pacquiao-Mayweather there. Personally, during the time of Pacquiao-Mayweather negotiations, I wanted them to hold it at the Cowboys Stadium, which is an amazing venue. For many reasons, but out of debt of gratitude, if that fight gets resurrected, they will go to Vegas. No problem, but at least I want to witness the experience of having a fight in a place this big, literally and figuratively.

Jonathan Yaghoubi - I feel this is going to be a real cool event and I am looking forward to seeing how the Cowboys Stadium is going to look hosting a fight. It's a breath of fresh air because I am getting tired of every single big fight being held in Vegas. This is exactly what Jones had envisioned for this stadium when it was first built. It is the start of a new era and I expect this to be a taste of things to come.

Point blank, will the fight sell out?

Jonathan Yaghoubi - Yes, I think it will sell out. According to Bob Arum, there have been 41,000 tickets sold and with a seating capacity set at 45,000, it is very likely that the tickets won't be available much longer. Manny Pacquiao is a headliner and people are starting to realize that this will not be an easy fight for him but an exciting one.

Ali Shakoor - Tough question considering how the stadium is being portioned off to the 40-45k seat range. I tell you what, I think Jerry Jones and Arum will make sure that over 40 thousand seats are filled. However, I think this fight has been horribly promoted, and I have a prediction: Less than 800,000 PPV buys.

Ryan Bates - Numbers-wise, maybe. But remember, Top Rank likes to sell off a good chunk of tickets to ticket brokers. There will be empty patches in the stadium.

Joe Roche - Will it sell out the # of tickets made available or will it sell out the building? If they made 40,000 tickets available I imagine they'll get close to that number though I don't think that there will be 40,000 paying customers in the building. Will they fill the stadium? No chance.

Igor Frank - I don't believe the fight will sell out as the stadium is set to accommodate one hundred thousand fans, but it will generate tremendous numbers probably close to 50,000 tickets will be sold.

FJ Parlan - Of course, and they might open more sections of the stadium in the event of a sell-out (the venue was configured to only accommodate about 40,000 spectators) is plausible.

Looking at the undercard, we don't exactly have a fantastic line up though there's some decent scraps; more notably the Castillo-Gomez fight. Any expectations from that one?

Joe Roche - Yeah I expect it to be a scrappy fight with some good action that has absolutely no ramifications on their division.

Igor Frank - I have low expectations from that match up as Jose Luis Castillo is way past his prime and too small for fighting at welterweight. Alfonso Gomez is too young and strong for Castillo. The fight that should be interesting is a matchup between David Diaz and Humberto Sotto Las time out Sotto struggled at lightweight against a veteran Jesus Chavez. This time he is going to need to be on his A game to handle a constant pressure coming his way from relentless David Diaz.

FJ Parlan - This one is probably better than Pacquiao's last three fights. But overall, Top Rank has done a stinky job at constructing a good undercard for any of Pacquiao's last few fights. I have no particular expectations on an over aged, washed up Castillo fighting Gomez, but I am fine with watching John Duddy (who isn't a world beater but who doesn't want to watch him?) The fight I am looking forward to the most on the undercard is Humberto Soto vs. David Diaz.

Ali Shakoor - It's pathetically weak. I'll likely surf the net during Duddy-Medina. I'm interested in seeing Humberto Soto, but I'd rather see him defend his 130lb title than face the undeserving David Diaz for a vacant WBC lightweight belt. Silly fight, but I'm interested. Castillo is shot, and Gomez isn't very good, but their scrap could be entertaining. Unfortunately, that fight is Friday Night Fights caliber at best. Shitty card, Mr. Arum.

Ryan Bates - Gomez is always in an action fight and as I said about the Pacquiao/Cotto undercard, watch for Gomez to be in the undercard fight of the night. Both Gomez and Castillo like to stand and bang, but both have showed us on occasion that they can fight sensibly. Who will show up that night? If they bang, we could have a mess on our hands.

Getting back to the main event. Let's go around and hear your thoughts on what Clottey's strengths and weaknesses are and how they could impact the fight.

Ali Shakoor - Strengths are toughness, strong chin, counters, sharp/crisp punching and determination. Weaknesses are lack of elite speed and power (not bad w/ either though), poor adjustment making, and bad temperament. If Manny decides to use his boxing skills, he'll have an easy night because Clottey won't keep up, or alter his methods. Otherwise, expect a war.

Igor Frank - Clottey is a strong welterweight with underrated speed. He is also a very good counter puncher which is a huge plus when fighting Pacman( refer to Juan Manuel Marquez). If Clottey can counter effectively and hurt the smaller Pacquiao at some point, he could pull off a big upset. Clottey has one weakness; he does not throw a lot of punches and that is a recipe for disaster against Pacquiao.

Joe Roche - His strengths are his strength - he's a tough dude, he can take a punch and he can throw a punch. He's incredibly difficult to stop. On the flip side he fades during fights until he's barely competitive in the end -- he should have beaten Miguel Cotto but he stopped throwing punches and that wasn't a one-time occurrence. You can't beat Manny Pacquiao by getting into a defensive shell and hoping he gets tired because that won't happen and Clottey doesn't have the stamina to keep up with Pacquiao for 12 rounds.

Jonathan Yaghoubi - One of the biggest strengths for Clottey is his defense. He will have the best defense that Pacquiao has seen in awhile and when he puts his gloves up, its hard to find somewhere to hit. His arms are long enough to go down and cover his stomach/ribs. This may frustrate Pacquiao as he likes to be aggressive and land a lot of punches. Clottey has a rock hard chin. He has only been down one time in his career and it was by a fluke jab in his last fight against Miguel Cotto.

I love his confidence going into this fight. He really believes that he has a chance to win this fight. When I spoke to him at the presser for this fight, I can see it in his eyes that he really believes that he is going to beat the "great" Pacquiao and doesn't feel it will take a miracle. Clottey is a lethal body puncher.

Clottey goes to the body often and when he does it can be devastating. His left to the body is a very good shot and it could prove many problems for Pacquiao. The same punch also gave Margarito and Cotto problems throughout their fights.

We know Pacquiao can take a shot to the head but at 147 lbs, what will a body punch do to him?
Clottey does not have the speed to match up with Manny and that could be enough to be his downfall. He does not have the big fight experience as Manny does and also has some fatigue issues. He gets tired late in his fights and it cost him against Cotto as he if he let down just enough to give the fight away. He will have no shot if the same thing happens to him in this fight.

Ryan Bates - OK, Clottey's strength, obviously, is his iron-clad jaw. If anybody can take a Pacquiao punch, it's Josh Clottey. He took Margarito's best, and even without plaster Margarito was still a heavy-handed fighter. Clottey also has power in his punches, but so does Pacquiao.

On the flip side, Clottey has a tendency to take rounds off to breathe, relax, and recollect his fight plan. Against Pacquiao, about the time you take your first moment off, he's going to devour you (see Pacquiao v. Clottey round 5). If Clottey even wants to SEE the final bell, let alone pull off the upset, he won't be able to take any time off.

FJ Parlan - Clottey could potentially be the toughest fight of Pacquiao since the last time he had a tough one in the ring (against Juan Manuel Marquez in 2008). And most people don't realize it. The combination of the Ghanaian's strength and size, among others, is already something to deal with for Pacquiao. Throw in the chin, defense, and other factors. I'm definitely not underselling Clottey for this fight.

Flipping the script, let's discuss Manny's strengths and weaknesses and how they may play a role against Clottey.

Joe Roche - Well Manny is super human. His speed is far superior to Clottey, his power is sneaky good and he can hurt Clottey. As for his weaknesses -- I'm not sure he has any. Clottey's best chance at beating Pacquiao is to catch him just right and scramble his brain for a minute and then end the show -- otherwise Manny is just too good.

Igor Frank - Pacquiao is fast, aggressive and relentless. He throws a lot of punches from different angles, which makes it very hard for his opponents to defend. Considering the fact that Clottey sometimes covers up to defend himself, I tend to agree with Freddie Roach thinking that Pacquiao will overwhelm and stop Joshua in the later rounds. Manny's aggressive style is his weakness, because it opens him up for counters.

Ali Shakoor - Strengths: Everything. Mainly speed, power, versatility, endurance, and will. Weaknesses- Not too difficult to hit, overjoyed to exchange while ignoring pure boxing, perhaps overly aggressive. If Manny is intent on knocking Clottey out, and fails to do so, and stays in front of Clottey to exchange all night, he's in for a very rough night.

Ryan Bates - Manny's strengths: He's got power in his punches, he's fast as hell, he has great accuracy, and he has Freddie Roach in his corner.

Manny's weakness: He has one? OK, I guess I could conceive this: If he is THAT distracted by Floyd Mayweather, he could be fighting angry, leading to wider looping shots, a lax defense, and a lucky punch from Clottey could do serious damage.

FJ Parlan - The overall talent and skill is with Pacquiao, but it's no walk in the park.

Jonathan Yaghoubi - Manny's hand speed is far better than Clottey's, and he will be able to get off faster. Clottey hasn't seen hand speed like this but who has ever seen speed like Pacquiao's.

Clottey's workrate hurt him against Cotto but sometimes he can get away with it when he fights a man who doesn't have a high work rate. Pacquiao is not that man. Pacquiao has a high work rate in every round and never seems to slow down. Clottey has been known to take rounds off, and he can't afford to do that in this fight. in devastating fashion. Pacquiao is the smaller man, but without a doubt he is the bigger puncher. He has 38 knockouts in his 50 wins and has knocked out his last four opponents. On top of that, he is the only man to knock out Erik Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera. Clottey only has 20 knockouts in his 35 wins and has never knocked out a top-tier opponent. Pacquiao, simply put, is the more talented fighter.

If Clottey managed to pull this fight off, what would your initial reactions be?

Igor Frank - Wow ! Wow! I would be stunned, but happy for Clottey as he might finally get the recognition and fame he covets.

FJ Parlan - I would still be shocked. And you know, due to personal sentiments connected to Pacquiao that no other one here shares, it would hurt. But I would have to give credit and praise to Joshua Clottey.

Ali Shakoor - I wouldn't be surprised at all. And I'd have disappointment that Manny's legacy takes a serious hit. I'm a "mark" for historical greatness. Also, if he decides to seek a fight with Mayweather (assuming he beats Mosley), he'll officially be Mayweather's bitch in negotiations. But as I said before, I don't think we'll ever see Pacman v. Mayweather. Aside from all that, I'll be happy for Clottey for "shocking the whole world, except for Ali Shakoor".

Joe Roche - I'd just throw my hands up and say that's why they don't fight the bouts on paper.

Jonathan Yaghoubi - I know I am writing that Clottey is going to be a tough foe but if he actually pulls off the upset, I will be quite stunned even though I should not be. The whole sports world will be stunned if Pacquiao does not come out on top and that really is the word I can think of if this happens.

Ryan Bates - Wait, I don't understand... you lost me at the part where you said Clottey would win over Pacquiao. I got confused.

Should Pacquiao win as expected, you'd figure a fight against the winner of Mosley-Mayweather would be next. If not, is there anyone else out there as a viable opponent?

Ryan Bates - Not unless he wants to go down to 140 and fight Tim Bradley.

FJ Parlan - No. Winner or Mosley-Mayweather or retire, like they originally planned (and I have no dictations on that).

Igor Frank - Mayweather would be next. If not, is there anyone else out there as a viable opponent? The fight with Mayweather has a lot of obstacles, but Pacquiao wants it and that is half the battle. Should Shane Mosley beat Mayweather he would be a great opponent for the Pacman and a lot easier to make a contract with. One more opponent I would love to see Pacquiao in the ring with (not a very popular choice at this moment) is Antonio Margarito.

Ali Shakoor - An interesting issue that's flown below the radar-and I should have addressed it in my last column--is that Manny asked Ring Magazine to allow him to keep his 140 pound crown for another few months while he decides what to do. Maybe he knows that he and Mayweather will never come to terms, and he wants to go back down to the talent-rich 140 lb division for a few more paydays. However, if Mosley wins and Manny is victorious, I think that Mosley will take the short money and ignore the blood testing shit. Mosley wants fights and paydays. Mosley v. Pacquiao would be easy to make for the fall. If Mayweather wins, don't be surprised to see Manny retire, or seek numerous options at 140(Bradley, Valero, JMM).

Jonathan Yaghoubi - The only other guy that could be a viable opponent for Manny is Andre Berto. Berto is the young and rising star and is still looking to prove himself at the big stage. A fight between those two would be a pretty good one in my opinion. If no Berto, Manny has to fight the winner of Mayweather-Mosley because there is no one else out there to put Manny in the ring with.

Joe Roche - Sure. I wrote about it this week but I wouldn't be at all surprised to hear the name Timothy Bradley thrown around for Pacquiao after this fight.

Finally, let's hear your predictions. Who wins this fight and why?

FJ Parlan - Pacquiao. He may have never faced a style like Clottey but more so vice-versa. Clottey is good but Pacquiao is simply better, than probably everyone else.

Ali Shakoor - Manny will fight a tactically stupid, but thrilling for us, fight. He's faster, has better endurance, and has more overall skills. However, he'll eat a lot of punches, and maybe suffer a bad cut from a headbutt. Clottey will enjoy being able to fight an aggressor to showcase his counter-punching and toughness. However, his lack of power and inferior overall skill-set will cause him to lose an exciting war. Manny wins a UD with a 115-112 average.

Joe Roche - Manny Pacquiao wins by late round (lets say 9th) stoppage. Clottey is a tough guy but he isn't nearly active enough to bother Manny and his defense isn't good enough to keep Manny off him for any extended period of time. Pacquiao should control this fight from the opening bell and I imagine Clottey will be so worn down by the 9th round that Pacquiao will stop it, or the ref will stop it before we get to the championship rounds.

Ryan Bates - Pacquiao by late stoppage. Clottey might actually make the scorecards, but even if he does, it'll be a clear win for Manny.

Igor Frank - Pacquiao by a late round knockout. He is just too fast and aggressive and will overwhelm Clottey with his versatile offense.

Jonathan Yaghoubi - It's going to be a fun and close fight as I say Pacquiao wins a 12 round decision with the scores going 116-112 or something along those lines.

I too think Pacquiao takes this fight, but I'm gonna go with a decision win. I can see him overwhelming Clottey with speed and combination but Clottey's a brick wall and I think he takes the shots en route to ending up with a few cuts and a battered face.

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Thanks to everyone for reading and as you all get ready to enjoy the fight tonight, remember that we'll have a full round by round update of the bout here at 411mania.com. We'll give you some updated results throughout the night, leading into the live updates of the main event.

Enjoy!