GRAPEVINE, Tex. – To look across the atrium of the Gaylord Texan resort on a Sunday morning – Alamo replica here, River Walk replica there – is to wonder: How did this place get built between Dallas and Fort Worth and not Mandalay Bay and MGM Grand? It would work well on the Strip; borrow a roller coaster from Arlington’s Six Flags and name the compound Texas Texas.

Bright as the atrium is with late-winter sunshine filtered through its domed ceiling, the natural light is but a solar imitation of what shone down from the roof of Cowboys Stadium Saturday night. To sit underneath “Jerrytron” is to bathe in artificial light so gentle and brilliant you start to wonder, Why can’t we do something like this with the sun?

A gentler question, itself, than what ringsiders asked as Saturday became Sunday: Why can’t we do something with Joshua?

No, Mr. Clottey did not acquit himself gloriously in his largest challenge before the largest crowd to see a prizefight in America since 1993. Mr. Pacquiao did. Of course.

The main event of “The Event” saw the fighting pride of the Philippines, Manny Pacquiao, unanimously decision Ghana’s Joshua Clottey by scores of 120-108, 119-109 and 119-109. The minority card in that trio is the one that had it right. The match was for a welterweight title, but only one man seemed to care.

Here’s the pep talk someone needed to give Joshua Clottey in his dressing room before the fight: “Josh, they call you ‘a good loser’. You make fun fights with guys expected to beat you, and you lose. You’re not going to win by decision tonight. So help me God, Josh, if you let this fight go 12 rounds, you damn well better not go to another post-fight press conference and say you were robbed. If you don’t stop this little guy by the end of the sixth, I’ll knock the microphone right out of your hand before I let you whine to the press again!”

Actually, that speech should have been given on the first day of training camp and followed by breakfast recitals each morning for the next six weeks. Clearly it wasn’t. Or it was, and Clottey’s impervious to speeches as he is to opponents’ punches.

Rather than a resentful b-sider ready to use every ounce of his likely 20-pound advantage on Pacquiao, we got a Ghanaian gentleman fully committed to winning the perfect way or no way.

At least he committed to something.

Clottey committed to a few uppercuts in the 10th round too, to be fair, but by then his discouragement had won the race with Pacquiao’s fatigue – a race on whose outcome the fight pivoted.

For the first time since he began making superfights, on Saturday Manny Pacquiao fought scared. Not cautious, like he began with Oscar De La Hoya or Miguel Cotto; not patient, like he began with Ricky Hatton. Scared. Muscle memory ensured Pacquiao’s combinations were tight and well-schooled. But quite often in the fight’s opening half, Pacquiao threw his hands because it was the one way to keep Clottey from punching him. And Pacquiao wanted no part of being punched by Clottey.

But everything had to be just right before Clottey would even attempt the feat. It was reminiscent of the way novelist Philip Roth once described the opening forays of a poet who discovered the craft late: He set off with all the confidence of a person who’s never succeeded at anything.

That’s not counterintuitive as it looks. It’s an apt way to depict someone who cruises through life attributing all past failures to carelessness: Once I decide to mean it, the world will be jarred by my genius.

That man needs things to be unconditionally perfect before he begins. Clottey fought like a guy who had 36 or so rounds to find the perfect platform for landing his perfect combination on Pacquiao. He was in absolutely no hurry. He was never in trouble; he knew in the first round that Pacquiao – for all his unorthodox angles and speed – didn’t hit anything like a natural 147-pounder does, certainly nothing like Antonio Margarito, a supernatural welter, did.

Pacquiao, though, had Clottey figured out quicker still. Not enough credit is given to Pacquiao’s ring IQ. But he’s been in 56 prizefights, guys, so maybe now’s a good time. Pacquiao noticed in round 1 that so long as his hands were in motion, Clottey’s were still. For the next 35 minutes, then, Pacquiao simply moved his hands every time Clottey found confidence enough to throw more than a meek, range-finding, right-hand lead. Clottey’s only meaningful punches all night came when Pacquiao imitated his shell defense.

Then Pacquiao would sample Clottey’s power, decide he wanted no part of it and start his body back in motion. And Clottey would follow along, expertly cut off the ring, then show Pacquiao’s onrushing knuckles the full brunt of his forearms. An unofficial count had Pacquiao striking Clottey’s gloves, forearms, ribs and face 1,300 times. Pacquiao didn’t have enough power to shake Clottey – nobody does – but he had power enough to keep Clottey from throwing back. That’s getting the job done.

So what’s next for the best fighter in the world, perhaps the only entertainer in history that could interest 51,000 people in a fight with Joshua Clottey? Probably not Floyd Mayweather. Their emissaries now speak different languages: My guy’s ticket sales against your guy’s pay-per-view buys. Probably Antonio Margarito, whose apology-free rehabilitation tour made him ubiquitous last weekend: Lobby, weigh-in, elevator, ringside, restaurant.

Promoter Top Rank’s masterful matchmakers will watch closely when Margarito next fights with unloaded gloves. You’ll know he’s more shot than you think if he and Pacquiao plan a two-step for September.

That’s how they dance in Texas. And after Cowboys Stadium was “The Event” last week, there are now reasons galore to make a second step in Arlington.

Bart Barry can be reached via Twitter.com/bartbarry

Photo by Chris Darina / Top Rank

Sunday Sizzler Radio Show:Fast Eddie Chambers Interview! As well Marc Abrams LIVE on air!! – A disgruntled Ross Thompson Live, Pacquiao Clottey and other Fight recaps and upcoming fight previews! 15rounds.com’s Johnny Schulz presents: Talking BOXING with JSizzle and New York Dan NYD – A weekly Sunday boxing show covering Boxing from all angles. Alongside boxing aficionado Danny “NYD” Stasiukiewicz, and a special feature with Billy from Philly.

Dusseldorf, Germany (March 14, 2010) – American heavyweight “Fast Eddie” Chambers – rated #1 in the WBO – arrives in Dusseldorf, Germany with his team a week before his scheduled World Championship bout against WBO/IBF Heavyweight Champion Wladimir Klitschko.

“I am on a mission to beat Wladimir Klitschko and bring those titles back home to the United States. This is serious business and I am going for it, but I also know that I want to take in this experience and enjoy the ride. I am not going to make any fancy predictions. I’m just going to win.”

ARLINGTON, Tex. – Manny Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach promised a stoppage. Pacquiao couldn’t deliver. He didn’t have to. The building did it for him.

Cowboys Stadium’s star-power was the show stopper Saturday night in Pacquiao’s unanimous decision over Joshua Clottey.

From former Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman among celebrities at ringside to a blue-collar crowd paying $8.50 for a bottle of domestic beer in the cheap seats, it was also a show that demanded a rematch. Not with Clottey.

But with the building.

“Of course,’’ said Reyna Aldrete, a Filipina-American and nurse in the Dallas area who showed up at Cowboys Stadium with a poster that included a red heart next to one name, Manny. “Who wouldn’t want to come back here?

Aldrete, one of many in pro-Pacquiao crowd, was also one of many who witnessed her first event at Cowboys Stadium. NFL games are expensive, even more expensive than a beer. In Pacquiao, she saw reason to return. A reason an encore.

A couple of hours before the first televised fight, Irish middleweight John Duddy’s split decision over Mexican Michael Medina, there were more ushers and beer vendors than customers. On the 11,250 square feet of high definition viewing on a screen nicknamed the “Jerrytron,” most of the seats looked the same: Virtually empty.

They didn’t stay that way for long.

Like anticipation for the main event, the crowd first grew slowly, then steadily. Suddenly, it looked as if it was big enough to be another municipality between Dallas and Fort Worth. Call it “Jonestown,” another local nickname for an NFL arena identified by the Cowboys’ celebrity owner, Jerry Jones.

The expectation was 45,000. At opening bell for Mexican lightweight Humberto Soto’s unanimous decision over Chicago’s David Diaz in the last fight before the main event, you didn’t need high-definition to see more people in more seats than Jones and promoter Bob Arum had envisioned. The crowd was reported to be 50,994 before Clottey and Pacquiao ever stepped through the ropes. That makes it the third biggest U.S. crowd to ever watch a fight in an enclosed arena.

The boxing record is 63,350 at the New Orleans Super Dome for Muhammad Ali’s victory over Leon Spinks in a 1978 rematch. A crowd of 58,891 at San Antonio’s Alamodome in 1993 for the Julio Cesar Chavez-Pernell Whitaker draw is second on the list. Pacquiao-Clottey might not be on any list if the roof had been opened at Cowboys Stadium. The crowd was less than half of the127,000 at Mexico City’s Azteca Stadium for a Chavez’ victory over Greg Haugen. It also was less than half of about 108,000 at Cowboys Stadium a few weeks ago for the NBA All-Star Game.

Seats in the upper deck at Cowboys Stadium were never made available for Pacquiao-Cotto. They were hidden, almost imperceptibly, by a dark curtain.

But there were more than just empties behind those curtains. There was potential, hidden for one night, but there and waiting if Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, Jr.,fight. If they ever do, it might finally raise the curtain on a boxing renewal that has been forgotten as often as it has been forecast.

The forecast was there in Pacquiao’s familiar, yet enigmatic smile, as he paraded into the ring to the pounding beat of Eye Of The Tiger. When the crowd wasn’t chanting his name, it must have been smiling with him at the sight of a future that for one night was as bright as that screen 40 feet above the ring.

By the seventh round, there was some impatience. There were scattered boos at a fight that not even Pacquiao’s whirlwind pace could alter because of the stubborn, durable Clottey, who is hard to hurt and won’t be rushed. His defense, upraised gloves, hid his face the way those curtains hid the upper deck. It didn’t make him popular. But he was never the star anyway.

Pacquiao was. The chants and cheers resumed for him in the 10th, 11th and 12th rounds. In the end, it was his victory and his stadium, “Mannytown.”

For the boxing business, it could have been something more. It was in the building.

ARLINGTON, Tex. – “The Event” was promoter Top Rank’s largest happening in years – a championship prizefight featuring the worldwide phenomenon of Manny Pacquiao in a breathtaking new edifice before the largest domestic boxing audience since 1993. So as one sportswriter thought to put it, “Joshua Clottey fought like a loyal Top Rank employee.”

Much to experts’ surprise and ringsiders’ chagrin, Pacquiao (51-3-2, 32 KOs) had no trouble whatever with the tense and tentative Clottey (35-4, 21 KOs), beating him to the punch roughly 1,200 times and cruising to a lopsided decision: 120-108, 119-109 and 119-109.

Clottey – who once changed his moniker from “Hitter” to “Grand Master” and might next try “Reluctant” – surprised even knowledgeable fans with his complete unwillingness to hit until conditions were perfect. It took no expertise to know Pacquiao would never grant him such conditions, and so, after some initial nervousness, Pacquiao spent the first round keeping Clottey uncomfortable.

Then in round 2, Pacquiao began to exploit the obvious disparity in the men’s reflexes, moving casually and snapping jabs and hooks to the body. An ill-advised retreat by Pacquiao, though – hands up, chin tucked – brought life to Clottey’s hands, which by then had been dormant for four minutes. Through the fight’s opening quarter, whoever was punching was winning. That happened to be Pacquiao most of the time.

Somewhat frustrated by his inability to hook around Clottey’s shell defense in the fourth round, Pacquiao – in an uncharacteristic bit of clowning – threw a hook with both hands at the same time, resulting in a warning from the referee. Clottey, on the other hand, was far too respectful, following Pacquiao around the ring as if waiting for the other man’s approval before throwing his next punch.

At the fight’s midpoint, it was a shutout: Pacquiao 6-0. A while later, it would be 12-0.

If Pacquiao felt any psychological pressure from being stalked by a bigger man, after the opening rounds he didn’t show it. Boxing confidently and discouraging Clottey whenever he had to, Pacquiao took rounds 7, 8 and 9 as easily as he’d taken their six predecessors.

In round 10, things got interesting for just that many seconds as Clottey landed four punches in-a-row for the first time in a half hour of boxing. Then Pacquiao got serious, came out his shell and took away Clottey’s spirit yet again. The championship rounds saw no new excitement. Clottey fought as if happy to have spent 36 minutes in a ring with Pacquiao, and nothing like a challenger should.

If there was suspense at the reading of the judges’ cards it was sparked by a doubt that all three judges would give Pacquiao all 12 rounds. They didn’t, of course. End of suspense.

“I can’t believe it,” Pacquiao (modestly) said of his victory after the fight.

Neither could the rest of us, Manny, unfortunately enough.

HUMBERTO SOTO VS. DAVID DIAZ
If Mexican lightweights Humberto Soto and David Diaz wake up feeling a wee bit cheated of due affection on Sunday morning, they’ll be well within their rights. Both men gave what they had to the crowd and judges, Saturday, though neither party was paying them much mind.

In a fight significantly closer than two judges had it, Soto (51-7-2, 32 KOs) defeated Diaz (35-3-1, 17 KOs) by unanimous decision – 115-111, 117-109, 117-109 – to become the WBC lightweight world champion.

A fine indication of the Cowboys Stadium crowd’s interest in fighters not nicknamed “Pacman,” though, came at the midway point of round 2 – just as Soto scored a flash knockdown – and continued for five minutes, as the capacity crowd invoked a part of eighties sports lore, doing the wave for 10 stadium-wide swells.

Unbeknownst to many of the wavers, though, a very good fight was going on before them. Despite being the slower, less technically sound man in the ring, southpaw David Diaz was handling everything Soto hit him with and still stubbornly marching forward. Diaz’s experience – comprising many more fights at lightweight than Soto – told, as he was undissuaded by the smaller man’s accurate counterpunches.

Round 9 featured especially feral action as Diaz blasted Soto with left crosses, and Soto fired back with left hooks and uppercuts. While Soto was landing the more accurate punches, Diaz was surely getting his money’s worth from each exchange.

The next round saw an ounce of give in Soto. Diaz’s relentlessness – probably his most distinguishing trait as a prizefighter – took a bit of resolve from Soto’s legs and some snap from his punches. Combined with Soto’s evident fatigue, Diaz’s constant hustle made the championship rounds extremely close.

After embracing before the 12th and final round, Soto and Diaz then committed to a mutually brutalizing finish, using shoulders, elbows, heads and low blows to wear one another out. Diaz’s legs gave first, though, tossing him onto his knees with 10 seconds remaining in the match. That knockdown, and the one that came in the second round, combined to give Soto a victory on the one card that properly captured the fight – judge Gale Van Hoy’s, interestingly enough.

ALFONSO GOMEZ VS. JOSE LUIS CASTILLO
Whatever motivation Mexican Jose Luis Castillo had for rising to 145 pounds and then fighting anyway did not sustain him for all of 15 minutes Saturday. So his corner wisely canceled the final five rounds of his fight with fellow Mexican Alfonso Gomez – waving things off after round 5. With any luck, they’ll cancel Castillo’s future hopes of fighting, next.

Meeting Gomez (22-4-2, 10 KOs) in “The Event’s” second televised match of the night, Castillo (60-10-1, 52 KOs) began in a way that looked initially tentative and then outright sluggish. He threw few punches with authority but seemed at least partially engaged in the fight’s opening three minutes.

An exchange in the next round spoke volumes about Castillo’s chances, though. Closing space against Gomez – who’ll never have the class Castillo showed in his prime (many years ago) – Castillo got a bit too close, and Gomez simply tossed him away, a welterweight throwing a lightweight. Then round 3 saw a clash of heads that sent Castillo spinning towards the referee as if already looking for an honorable discharge.

Rounds 4 and 5 saw Gomez land right uppercuts that took far greater effect than Castillo’s counter left hooks. After dragging his feet back to the corner at the end of the fifth, Castillo made no protest when his corner stopped the match.

While you never wish to speculate about a prizefighter’s financial well-being, today, Castillo – once marked by an obsessive will to win – appears to be going through the motions merely for a paycheck. Dangerous motions, indeed. You can no longer love boxing and still hope Castillo keeps fighting.

JOHN DUDDY VS. MICHAEL MEDINA
If you weren’t sure how things might go when Ireland’s John Duddy (29-1, 18 KOs) squared off with Mexico’s Michael Medina (22-2-2, 17 KOs) in “The Event’s” first televised fight, a 10-round middleweight match, you needed look no further than the color of both fighters’ gloves: Green.

That color said Irish, and so did two judges, scoring a split-decision victory for Duddy: 96-93, 93-96, 96-93.

After starting fast, seasoning his shamrocks with chile by putting left hooks on Medina’s body, Duddy collected a pair of right-hand counters in round 3 that slowed his attack and made onlookers think that if Medina were the larger man, Duddy might be in genuine peril.

After five rounds, both guys’d had enough of jabbing and commenced to swapping left hooks and counter right uppercuts, with Duddy winning most exchanges and Medina scoring with plenty of his own punches.

By the eighth round, the hooks each man had landed on the other began to tell on the fighters’ legs, as Duddy and Medina had both slowed considerably. But in an effort to sap Duddy’s reserves further with hooks to the liver, Medina’s left glove strayed south one too many times, resulting in a point deducted from the Mexican’s tally for low blows.

Befitting their proud fighting traditions – Irish and Mexican – Duddy and Medina closed the fight winging punches without regard for defense or respect for one another’s power. The luck of the Irish prevailed, though, and Duddy escaped with his split-decision victory.

UNDERCARD
“The Event’s” final off-television match saw Fort Worth’s Arthur Trevino (5-3-3, 2 KOs) wage a sustained four-round featherweight scrap with Arizonan Isaac Hidalgo (6-5-2, 1 KO). One ringside judge declared Hidalgo the winner of every round, 40-36, while the other two saw the rounds split, turning in cards of 38-38. The official result, then, was a majority draw.

Before that, California super welterweight Rodrigo Garcia (6-0, 5 KOs) walk directly through Calvin Pitts (5-12-1, 1 KO), needing until only 2:21 of the second round to stop the overmatched Texan. It was a very limited test for Garcia, whose unblemished record was never in danger.

Local interest was piqued when two super bantamweights from Dallas – Roberto Marroquin (13-0, 10 KOs) and Samuel Sanchez (4-2-1) – touched gloves and came out fighting in Saturday’s fourth undercard match. Local interest then reached a peak when a second-round left hook from Marroquin felled Sanchez with such violence that no count ensued. Marroquin was declared the winner by TKO at 1:36 of round 2.

The afternoon’s next fight was of patronymic importance to Mexican fans if no one else, as Salvador Sanchez (19-3-2, 9 KOs) and Jaime Villa (8-8-2, 3 KOs) made an enjoyable eight-round featherweight match that featured some hooks, some uppercuts, some fouling and plenty of misses. After scoring an early knockdown, the Mexican named after a famous prizefighter, Sanchez, stopped the Mexican named after a famous revolutionary fighter, Villa – throwing left hooks to the liver till 1:09 of round 6, when Villa could not continue and Sanchez became the victor.

Before that came a featherweight bout between the Philippines’ Michael Farenas (26-2-3, 23 KOs) and San Antonio’s Joe Morales (20-13, 4 KOs), ended as a no-decision at 2:25 of the second round when an accidental collision of heads opened a deep gash over Morales’ right eye, causing the ringside doctor to prohibit further action.

Saturday’s action began with an eight-round bantamweight slugfest between Filipino Eden Sonsona (19-5, 6 KOs) and Columbian Mauricio Pastrana (35-13-2, 24 KOs). After dropping Pastrana several times in the middle rounds, Sonsona brought the match to a sudden end at 1:33 of the final round – striking Pastrana with a left cross of such authority that no count was attempted.

Announced attendance was 50,994 – the largest American crowd to see a fight in 17 years.

First bell of “The Event” rang through Cowboys Stadium at 5:20 p.m. CT.

Photos by Chris Farina/Top Rank

New York State Heavyweight champion Darrel “King David” Madison is willing to fight anyone at any time, but has repeatedly been rebuffed. As a southpaw with good boxing ability and a strong amateur record, matchmakers have been heartbreakers, as Madison’s aspirations to fight the best is yet to come. After last night’s impressive performance at the Yonkers PAL Gym, it’s perfectly understandable why Madison has been turned down time and time again as an opponent.

Madison of Central Islip, improved to 15-1 (4 KO’s) after battering Providence, RI based gatekeeper Robert Wiggins over two one sided rounds. With St. Patrick’s Day right around the corner, Madison entered the ring in multi-colored checkered trunks and a brand new game plan. Madison previously boxed his way to skillful decision victories, which weren’t always entertaining, but the Irish style trunks seemingly turned him into a new fighter.

Madison came out unusually aggressive in the opening round, tagging Wiggins with a number of right hooks and body shots to take the first three minutes of the fight with ease. The former amateur standout went back to work in the second, buzzing Wiggins on a number of occasions with a heavy onslaught of punches. Madison was ready for more, with a group of his fans cheering him at ringside, but Wiggins wasn’t. The latter surprisingly remained on his stool after the second round and was met by a chorus of boos for doing so.

“I have been in the gym with him before and am surprised he quit”, Madison said after the fight. “Now I want a fight with (unbeaten Harlem based) Tor Hamer. He has a big mouth so let’s see if he can back it up!”

Wiggins falls to 20-8-1 (12 KO’s) with the defeat.

The co-feature pitted a counter puncher against an opponent who simply didn’t punch. O’Shea Brothers Boxing newly signed light heavyweight prospect Ronson “Perfectly” Frank scored an eight round shut out decision over Raynard Darden of Detroit, MI. Frank took his time in the early going, waiting for opportunities to counter, but Darden didn’t give him the chance simply because he didn’t move his hands.

Frank stepped up his punch output beginning in the third round, using a nice southpaw jab, body blows and right hooks. Darden was decked hard in the fourth with a nice check hook, but the hardcore veteran did a good job of surviving throughout the contest. Scores were 80-71 on all three cards.

Brooklyn’s Frank improves to 14-0 (7 KO’s), while Darden, who had longtime friend and Dibella Entertainment matchmaker Joe Quiambo assisting in his corner, falls to 11-22-1 (4 KO’s).

In the fight of the night, local featherweight Nydia Feliciano and Jennifer Han battled to an entertaining six round draw. Han, who entered the ring with a deceptive 0-1 record, had good ring generalship and worked behind a peppering jab. The hard charging Feliciano, who has a Juan Diaz type style, pressured Han, and found success with combinations in close quarters. Neither fighter cared much about avoiding punches, thus many clean shots landed in one of the most entertaining woman’s fights in recent memory. Scores were 59-55 Han, 58-56 Feliciano and 57-57, forcing the draw.

The Bronx based Feliciano remains unbeaten at 2-0-2. Han returns to El Paso, TX with a 0-1-1 record. 15Rounds scored the closely contested bout 58-56 for Han. On an interesting note, one of Feliciano’s cornermen shouted instructions while talking on his cell phone during the fourth and fifth rounds. Perhaps he was telling one of his confidants about the entertaining bout just inches away?

Crowd favorite Lambros “Linheart” Karaolides, 6-0 (4 KO’s) pounded out a one-sided six round decision over Medford, NY’s Ashantie Hendrickson in a junior middleweight contest. Karaolides, an Astoria based Cypriot outpunched his game opponent from bell to bell. Scores were 60-54 and 59-55 twice. Hendrickson falls to 1-6.

If boxing was UFC, Brooklyn light heavyweight Ariel Espinal would have received a nice bonus on his check for knockout of the evening. Espinal, a true fighter at heart, stepped into the squared circle on 24 hours notice with unbeaten Hajro Sujak. Espinal was less than two weeks removed from his last bout, a fourth round TKO over Anthony Pietrantonio, in Atlantic City and wasn’t in the best of shape. Like the majority of out of shape fighters, Espinal was looking to end the fight early. Success!

Espinal scored a jaw dropping second round KO over Sujak with a monstrous overhand right. Sujak crashed to the canvas and the referee Ricky Gonzalez took more time than necessary to direct Espinal to the neutral corner ala Lucian Bute-Librado Andrade. It made little difference. Gonzalez eventually began to count and Sujak bravely stood up, but only to fall a split second later. Time of stoppage was 2:59.

Espinal improves to 8-13-3 (4 KO’s), while The Bronx’ Sujak drops to 5-1 (2 KO’s).

Good looking bantamweight prospect Raul Lopez of The Bronx forced Puerto Rico’s Reinaldo Cintron to quit on his stool following the opening round. Lopez and Cintron mixed it up early, but the latter got dropped by a hard left hook to the body about 2:30 in. Lopez gunned for a knockout, throwing a terrific body combination, but his badly hurt opponent managed to get out of the round on his feet. Cintron’s corner threw in the towel shortly after the round ended, as their fighter had enough.

Lopez, who received praise as a sparring partner for world champion Carlos Tamara, ups his record to 3-0-1 (3 KO’s). Cintron heads home with a 1-2 professional ledger.

In the opening bout of the evening, former New York Golden Gloves champion Chazz McDowell shut out iron chinned Mexican Filberto Nieto over four rounds at junior lightweight. McDowell hit the defensively inept Nieto with everything he had, but Nieto had no quit in him. McDowell, of Yonkers, improves to 2-0 (1 KO). Nieto falls to 1-6.

The “St. Patty’s Day Brawl” was promoted by O’Shea Brothers Promotions, who have put together a string of scintillating club shows in recent months. Their next card is slated for April 2 at the Masonic Temple in Brooklyn.

Marc Abrams
We always see something new from Pacquiao. Being that Clottey has a strong and is a very good fighter. he will competitive early until he gets stopped with a body shot in round eleven.

Norm Frauenheim
Manny Pacquiao by unanimous decision. It’s hard not to agree with Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach. After all, Roach is on a roll. He predicted Pacqjuiao would stop Miguel Cotto. Pacquiao delivered. He predicted Pacquiao would knock out Ricky Hatton. Pacquiao delivered. Now, he is predicting Pacquiao will be the first fighter to stop Clottey. Sorry, not this time. Durability won’t win this fight for Clottey, whose hard head might be dangerous if it collides with Pacquiao in a bloody butt. But durability will keep Clottey around after the final bell and in the middle of the ring to hear how the judges’ scored 12 rounds.

Natashia Aiello
Paquiao by body shot KO in the 6th

Adam Berlin
Joshua Clottey is the bigger man. He has a strong chin, a super-tight defense and while he’s not a one-punch KO artist, his punches do damage. But Manny Pacquiao is too quick and too smart to be daunted. And with Freddie Roach in Pacquiao’s corner, Joshua Clottey will be fighting two men, not one. (I still don’t understand how Clottey’s team didn’t hire a veteran trainer to help their charge between rounds; it’s unconscionable. Joshua Clottey will be all alone in the Lone Star state.) Clottey will prove PacMan’s toughest test, but in the end Clottey won’t be busy enough and Manny will win by decision.

Rick McKenzie
As good and as dominant as PacMan has been as of late, I still have doubt in my mind that he can continue at this torrid pace of making mince meat out of men. Clottey is truly bigger and will come in the ring 20 pounds heavier…I got Clottey By KO/TKO in the 10th.

George Phillips
I am going to go against the norm and state the Clotty will be the man to dethrone the king, well maybe. Manny is the best pound for pound right now and we all know what he can bring to the ring. He has a trainer in Freddie Roach that can devise a battle plan that would make General Lee jealous. On the flip side of the coin, this is a true welterweight fight and unlike previous fights for PacMan there is no catch weight. Clotty was fighting at 147lbs when Manny was a flyweight. Plus, Clotty will probably be walking into the ring at 160lbs after re-hydration. Clotty will bring a armored tank defense that could frustrate the champion. For Clotty to take advantage of this, he will have to up his punch count and will have to take advantage of Manny’s attack style of boxing to land effective counter punches. Should Clotty not capitalize on his defense then Manny will wear him down after 8 or 9 rounds.

Clotty has never been stopped and I do not see that streak ending. Will Clotty do enough to pull off a decision? Perhaps. A draw could be in the making as well. Look for a great fight well worth the PPV cost.

Anson Wainwright
Over the past few years when Pacquiao fights there seem to be several possible outcomes and Pacquiao has some how managed to do what hardly anybody though he could do. Beat up Oscar, annilate Ricky Hatton and stand toe to toe with Cotto scoring stoppages in each one. While Clottey is a tough skilled guy who has a solid chin, impressive defence it all points to Pacquiao using his speed and picking Clottey off to score a points win but that’s conventional wisdom. I’m looking for Pacquiao to do what very few think he can do and that’s stop Clottey. Pacquiao in the tenth.

Mario Ortega Jr.
Pacquiao UD12 Clottey

Joshua Clottey is a good welterweight, but Manny Pacquiao is a great fighter. Pacquiao will be too quick handed for Clottey to open up out of his shell, and Pacman will win a wide decision. Clottey is too sturdy, and leaves too few openings for Pacquiao to score his fifth consecutive stoppage.

Johnny Schulz
So do I dare pick against pick against Pacquiao? I truly believe that Clottey has much more to offer as a challenge than his past 3 fights. I also know that he has a better chin than his last two for sure. Does the Pacman train continue its steamrolling ways? I believe this is where he gets stopped in his tracks. Not sure when or how, but I smell an upset. Pacman has everything to loose and Clottey everything to gain. All in all great fight. I could totally be off base here but, I dare to go there. -JSizzle

Alejandro Echevarria
Come Saturday night Joshua Clottey will once again step in the ring with the elite of the sport. In Manny Pacquiao, Clottey will be facing one of his most formidable opponents to date and if he wants to be considered one of the elite, he must win. No matter how close he makes this fight, Clottey must win in order to leave behind the stigma of always coming up short on his most important fights.

Only constant and effective pressure from Clottey forcing Pac-man to fight going back will give him the opportunity. If he can’t accomplish this for most of the fight, Pacquiao will dominate with his speed, volume of punches and multiple angles. In the end, the man from the Philippines will outhustle and outwork his opponent to earn a unanimous decision.

Matt Yanofsky
Pacquiao by decision. Pacquiao is far too fast and busy for the
offensively passive Clottey. The latter’s defense and physical strength
should be proficient enough to guide him to the final bell however.

David Winston
Unanimous decision for Pacquiao. Clottey is too defensive a fighter to outpoint the speedy and dynamic PFP champ. Manny will throw twice as many punches as his opponent. The “X Factor” will be Clottey’s obvious physical advantages. Can Pacquiao’s biggest/strongest foe actually hurt him?

Photo by Chris Farina/ Top Rank

The first fight between Tony Grano and Mark Brown back in 2008 reminded me that heavyweight fights can be entertaining. It featured big punches, multiple knockdowns and a thrilling come from behind conclusion. It was in short, everything right about heavyweight boxing. The rematch between Grano and Brown, sadly, featured everything that is wrong with heavyweight boxing: Clinching, inactivity and the lack of drama that seems to permeate every fight over 200 pounds.

Instead of letting it all hang out as he did in the first fight, Brown came into the fight thinking he was Muhammad Ali circa 1974. From the first bell he covered up and invited Grano to come in and wear himself out, hoping that Grano would punch himself into exhaustion and an easy KO. Problem was, Grano wasn’t having any of it. No amount of posturing and chest beating would get Grano to lay down more than the occasional flurry. Grano was content to stay on the outside and use the jab, piling up points and ensuring that he avenge the loss to Brown nearly two years prior. Ironically when Grano did come in to open up, Brown would bear hug and attempt to toss Grano around the ring. As the rounds progressed, Grano began to retaliate and the grappling and wrestling began in earnest. Referee Joey Lupino spent at least 20 seconds of each round admonishing both fighters for their unsportsmanlike tactics. Though Grano was winning rounds, he wasn’t making it look pretty.

His best moment came in the 7th when he managed to get Brown to the ropes and give himself enough space to tee off with rights and lefts to Browns chin. Brown was shaken but not so much as he couldn’t simply resort to clinching again. The sole moment of drama came in the 10th as Brown finally put forth an effort to punch, unleashing a full power overhand right that landed as Grano was moving back. Grano fell sideways into the ropes in dramatic fashion but the second he rose it was clear he was more off balance than hurt. Oddly, Brown didn’t even try to jump on Grano and did more posturing than punching over the final 2 minutes. The scores were no surprise: 98-91 and 97-92 (twice) all in favor of Grano. As bad as the fight was, it was a good win for Grano who at 17-1-1 13KOs can now start thinking of taking on someone ranked in the top ten. For Brown his 41 years of age and 15-3 7KOs record would, in any other division, warrant retirement. But in the heavyweight division, it’s still possible Brown can land himself a significant fight in the near future.

Former super bantamweight prospect Mike Oliver climbed one step closer toward once again being a player in the division by dispatching former minimumweight titlist Kermin Guardia in 3 rounds. Oliver kept Guardia at bay for much of the first 2 rounds with a fast jab and the occasional straight left hand. Midway through the second Oliver began to mix in right hooks which the complacent Guardia seemed unwilling or unable to avoid. In the third, a right hook caught Guardia moving backwards and deposited him on the canvas where referee Johnny Callas reached the count of 10. The knockout was Oliver’s first since 2006 and a good way to get him back into the divisional mix. With the win, he’s now 23-2 8KOs. Guardia falls to 37-12 21KOs.

Local up and coming middleweight David Bauza was given all he could handle from Erix Quintros in a close and entertaining 4 round scrap. Bauza was bombs away from the beginning and rocked Quintros with left and right hooks as he regularly switched between the southpaw and orthodox stance. For the first two rounds Quintros had little to offer in return but in the third, he began to fight back and put together combinations that drove Bauza to the ropes. Quintros had Bauza in some trouble near the end of the third as he landed a 4 punch combo that caused Bauza to clinch simply to keep his balance. At the end of the fourth one of the judges scored the fight even at 38-38 but was overruled by the other two who favored Bauza by scores of 39-37 and 40-36. Bauza remains unbeaten at 4-0 3KOs while Quintros drops his second fight in a row and slips to 2-5 1KO.

2008 U.S. Olympian Sadam Ali may not have frightening power but what he lacks in power he makes up for in speed. Welterweight Jose Duran got a taste of that speed for two and a half rounds before finally succumbing to it. The bout was all Ali from the start as he flashed combinations from different angles, peppering Duran with shots to the body and head. Duran was simply too slow to mount any offense and the rare punches he landed had little effect on Ali. Midway through the third Ali shot a blindingly fast left hook to the head of Duran which sent him crashing to the canvas. Duran (now 6-5-2 3KOs) struggled but was unable to beat the count of 10 giving Ali (now 6-0 3KOs) the knockout victory.

In the most entertaining bout of the night, super middleweights Manuel Lopes and Greg McCoy fought to a highly competitive majority draw over 4 rounds. The bout seemed like it would be one-sided at the onset as Lopes used the ring well and pot-shotted the onrushing and wild McCoy to good effect. The first two rounds were all Lopes who began to get increasingly bold as the minutes ticked away. He began dropping his hands and trying to trade with McCoy which almost proved to be his undoing. McCoy took full advantage of Lopes bravado and dished out a number of overhand rights that began to fall with regularity onto the chin of McCoy. By the fourth, McCoy had the confidence he needed to rush Lopes and launch a determined assault. McCoy backed Lopes into his own corner and uncorked yet another overhand right, this time stunning Lopes badly. McCoy tried to follow up and finish the fight but Lopes clung on till the bell and narrowly escaped defeat. Scores were 38-38 (twice) and 39-37 Lopes. McCoy, who has yet to win as a pro, now stands at 0-1-1 while Lopes clings to his unbeaten record of 5-0-2 1KO.

A mere 43 seconds was all light heavyweight Joe Smith Jr. needed to take the fight out of Carlos Adams. Smith dropped Adams with nearly the first left hook he threw and when Adams rose, Smith put an end to the fight with a single right hand. Referee Johnny Callas stopped his count at 7 when it was clear Adams wanted no part of the fight. Smith seems to have potential and will be an up an comer to look for in the future. He improves his record to 3-0 with 3KOs while Adams drops to 2-8.

The opening bout of the evening was a scheduled 4 rounder between junior welterweights Joey Ortega (2-17 1KO) and Edwin Soto (3-0 2KOs.) The fight was a mismatch from the beginning as Soto got right to work battering Ortega with 3, 4 and 5 punch combinations. The beating opened a cut on Ortega’s nose midway through the first and Ortega simply had no answer for the blows Soto rained down. Midway through the second Soto threw a right hand that caught Ortega flush and stunned him. The follow up barrage of 10+ unanswered punches prompted referee Dick Flaherty to call a halt to the bout. The stoppage was a bit premature but merciful to say the least. Time was 2:31 of round 2.

A heavy Pittsburgh contingency watched as undefeated welterweight and former IBF lightweight champion Paul “The Pittsburgh Kid” Spadafora 44-0-1(18KO) brought a throw back style and look to the War Memorial Auditorium in Fort Lauderdale while picking up a TKO8 win over Italian Ivan Fiorletta 24-6-2. The southpaw Spadafora controlled the entire fight with slick boxing excellent footwork, and brutal body shots. Spadafora had to fight through plenty off rough housing from Fiorletta throughout the fight, referee Frank Gentile had his hands full all night until he waived his arms in the 8th round. Fiorletta took a point in round six for throwing a couple knees to Spadaforas’ head, while throwing elbows and holding excessively throughout the fight. Spadafora looked much improved as the fight wore on gaining speed and accuracy. He often landed sharp three punch combinations mostly ending with a right body hook that connected almost always. The undefeated Spadafora ran off track and had a 32 month layoff and becoming incarcerated due to a string of drug, alcohol and weapon charges.

Local heavyweight and fan favorite Eric “The Viking” Leander 9-1(8KO) was violently knocked out by fomer amatuer standout Jason Barnett 12-10(6KO) in the Co-Main event of the night in front of a huge Viking crowd donned in horns cheering on their fighter. The first round started with Barnett catching the Viking with an array of jabs and setting up a booming right hand that sent the Viking to the canvas. The round ended with Barnett peppering the Viking with a four punch, right left combination that sent Leander to the canvas and was barely saved by the bell and staggered to his corner. The next round started with an exhausted Leander just able to muster a pawing jab and getting beat to the punch. A hard right hand into a solid left hook dropped Leander at :41 seconds in the second round giving Leander his first loss of his career. Leander brings no amateur experience and a very dangerous brawl and maul style that failed versus a skilled boxer, as the smaller Barnett proved tonight.

In the third fight of the night Willie Herring 12-6-3 pulled off another big upset with a second round KO over Dieuly “The Untamed Beast” Aristilde 7-2, who was coming off of the biggest win of his career, a KO over Elijah McCall just a few weeks ago in a war. Herring started the fight before the opening bell with some mental warfare playing to the crowd and mocking Aristilde. Which had its payday as Aristilde left his game plan of boxing and setting up punches in the corner. Instead he chose to engage in a power right hand contest. The Untamed Beast was knocked down in the first round and in the second with a great left hook that downed the Haitian fighter for good at 1:55. This was a tough loss for the proud Haitian, and a questionable one in regards to why his team would rush him into the ring just weeks after a war.

Rances Barthelemy 4-0 (3) defeated Robert Guillen 5-6-3 (1).Barthelemy and dominated the action in a four round jr lightweight fight. Both men traded some good body shots but Barthelemy was the clear winner of most of the exchanges. The cards read 39-36 40-35 40-35.

Light heavyweight Abdulah Dobey 4-0 (4) earned a big KO3 win over Gevonte Davis 4-6-1 (2). Dobey came out swinging hard to the opening bell and knocked Davis down in the 2nd with a stiff body shot and in the third with stiff right hands, doubled them up, staggering and dropping Davis to the canvas at 1:53 for the final count.

Yoelvis Gamboa improved to 4-0(2KO) with an excellent left hook KO over Milton Ramos 2-2-2. Gamboa showed improvement since his debut, however still very raw. Gamboa the younger brother of world featherweight champion Yuriorkis Gamoa 17-0, slipped a big right hand and landed a crushing left hook that ended the bout at 1:42 of the third round.

Cruiserweights Sullivan Berrera 3-0(3KO) and Reggie Pena 6-3(1KO) rumbled in round one and exchanged wild shots on the way to an exciting first round. Pena got deducted one point for holding round 2. The fight ended with a perfectly placed left hook by Berrera on the chin of Pena dropping him to the canvas in a violent manner. The end came at 1:45 in the second round.

So, the Pittsburgh Kid is back, the Viking got mauled, the Beast tamed, and some great looking prospects showed their stuff in an exciting card in Fort Lauderdale tonight.

Notable fighters in attendance were Allan Jackson, Jameel McLine, Joel Julio, John David Jackson, Yorkis Gamboa and Pernell “Sweet Pea” Whitaker…JSizzle and NYDanny Stasiukiewicz reporting ringside.

GRAPEVINE, TEX. – Tasty local appetizer cards have become a staple of promoter Top Rank’s superfight weekends, and Friday night’s fare at the Gaylord Texan Hotel & Convention Center – an opening course for “The Event” on Saturday – was no exception. Featuring a Filipino and a Mexican in the main event and crowd-pleasers from around the world in seven other matches, the card delighted its capacity crowd in a sweeping luxury compound northwest of Dallas.

Filipino flyweight Richie Mepranum (16-2-1, 3 KOs) and Mexican Hernan Marquez (25-1, 18 KOs) made a fantastic 10-round battle in Friday’s main event, one in which the light-hitting southpaw from the Philippines absorbed everything the Mexican could throw his way and hung on to win a unanimous decision: 99-91, 96-94 and 98-92.

After starting slowly before a suddenly quiet crowd, Mepranum and Marquez gradually increased their punch output through the next six rounds, turning the eighth into the beginning of a three-stanza crescendo in which both fighters threw knockout blows, while failing to finish – or even much hurt – the other man.

Though the fans in attendance were evenly split between Filipinos and Mexicans, there was little outrage expressed from the Mexican side over the judges’ awarding the fight to Mepranum.

SAMUEL PETER VS. NAGY AGUILERA

Friday’s co-main event saw a fit and fired-up Samuel Peter (34-3, 27 KOs) box, counter and then blitz Dominican Nagy Aguilera (15-3, 10 KOs), winning by technical knockout at 2:24 of the second round.

Clues to Peter’s newfound seriousness were in evidence at Thursday’s weigh-in when the “Nigerian Nightmare” – whose fitness and heart have been questioned in the past – tipped the scale at 237 1/2 pounds, his lowest weight since 2001. After that, Peter showed surprising patience and technique (and abdominal muscles), countering Aguilera whenever the Dominican hung his jab. One such counter, a patented overhand right from Peter, took Aguilera’s knees from under his thighs, dropping him early in round 2.

Peter, never a shy finisher, showed uncharacteristic finesse after that, taking his time and waiting for Aguilera to hang one more jab. Aguilera complied, hanging another left hand – and Peter blasted him with a right cross that sent Aguilera sprawling into the ropes where Peter assaulted him till the referee waved an end to the match.

JOSE BENAVIDEZ VS. BOBBY HILL

In a showcase bout to close the opening hour of Fox Sports Español’s telecast, undefeated Phoenix prospect Jose Benavidez (3-0, 3 KOs) – a seven-time national amateur champion now fighting under the Top Rank banner – made decisive work of southpaw Mississippi lightweight Bobby Hill (1-4), stopping him at 2:59 of round 3. Benavidez, who at 6-foot-1 is an enormous 135 pounder, showed the joy of battle and willingness to exchange one hopes to find in a young prizefighter.

At times, though, that joy of battle led Benavidez to show the amateurish habit of dropping his lead hand to waist level while throwing the right cross. Under the watchful eyes of trainer Freddie Roach and mentor Jose Benavidez, Sr., however, that perilous habit should be eradicated soon.

“This was the first left-hander I’ve fought as a pro,” Benavidez said after the third opponent of his career. “But I had a lot of experience against them in the amateurs, and body shots always work.”

“After the second round, I was worried,” Jose Benavidez, Sr. said about a cold from which his son had been suffering all week. “But I told him to do what he had to do.” And that he did.

UNDERCARD

The night’s second televised bout saw super welterweight Houstonian Omar Henry (8-0, 7 KOs) race out his corner and ruin Mexican Francisco Reza (5-2, 4 KOs) in a half minute of relentless offensive assault. Henry dropped Reza 10 seconds into the match with lefts and rights everywhere. Reza rose and then dropped 10 seconds later. At 0:32 of round 1, the fight was over – Henry by TKO.

The evening’s final pre-television match saw Filipino welterweight Dennis Laurente (34-3-4, 17 KOs) decision Ghanaian strongman Ben Tackie (29-12-1, 17 KOs) in a competitive eight-round welterweight scrap. Though each round was close and Tackie clearly thought he’d won at least four, the official scorecards did not agree, unanimously seeing things for Laurente by scores of 77-75, 77-75 and 78-74.

Before that, Freddie Roach-trained Mexican heavyweight Andy Ruiz, Jr. (3-0, 3 KOs) made quick work of Texan Luke Vaughn (0-2), stopping him with a textbook left hook to the liver at 1:55 of round 1. That was about the only thing that looked like it does in a textbook, as Ruiz – at 271 pounds of much more than striated muscle – wore a physique bearing no resemblance to that of his trainer’s most famous charge.

Starting the card was undefeated Washington D.C. lightweight contender Anthony Peterson (30-0, 20 KOs) in a 10-round bout with overmatched Puerto Rican Juan Ramon Cruz (16-8-1, 12 KOs). Peterson moved well, using his shell defense and waiting for openings, and did exactly what an undefeated contender is supposed to do with an eight-loss journeyman, off-television.

After felling Cruz in round 2, Peterson landed an impressive right uppercut/left hook combination in the third to begin the end of Cruz’s night. Dropped a second time, Cruz rose once more, got clipped with a right uppercut and dropped a third time. And so his night ended by TKO at 1:11 of the third round, preserving Peterson’s unblemished record.

The evening began about a half hour later than scheduled, as an ambulance had to be located before the card could commence. Attendance was good in the convention hall despite Friday’s card being made mostly for television.

Doors for Saturday’s fights open at 5:00 p.m. CT. 15rounds.com will have full ringside coverage of “The Event” in its entirety.

Photos by Chris Farina / Top rank

ARLINGTON, Tex. – Manny Pacquiao and Joshua Clottey tried to play it straight when they were asked to pose. The stare-down is supposed to be serious stuff. One blink signals fear. But Pacquiao and Clottey laughed like kids at play. They couldn’t stop laughing.

A weigh-in, a well-rehearsed ritual, can be funny. One in front of Cowboys Stadium Friday was more laugh-in than weigh-in. Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 KOs) and Clottey (35-3, 21 KOs) made the welterweight limit, Clottey at 147 pounds and Pacquiao at 145 ¾, for their fight Saturday night at the $1.2 billion arena.

After they stepped off the official scale, they must have laughed off another quarter pound or two. The Clottey camp played the straight man, the tomato can. Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach delivered the punch lines.

Clottey camper Gjin Gjini, owner of John’s Gym in New York, leaned over and told Roach that if the corners were fighting, Clottey’s corner would win in a beat-down. It was the equivalent of one kid telling another kid: My dad can whip your dad. No wonder they were laughing.

“He tells me that if the corners were fighting, we’d get beat up,’’ said Roach, who didn’t recall Ginji’s name and referred to him only as “the Albanian.”

At 50, Roach is well-past his best days as a brawling featherweight. Nevertheless, he has managed to become a target for insults from opposing corners. Floyd Mayweather, Sr., spouted dismissive poetry and few other things at Roach before Pacquiao knocked out Ricky Hatton. Joe Santiago took his rhetorical shots at Roach before Pacquiao’s stoppage of Miguel Cotto.

“When Manny fights Floyd Mayweather Jr., no telling what will happen between me and Roger Mayweather,’’ Roach said of Floyd’s uncle and trainer, also a former fighter. “Roger really doesn’t like me.’’

Anger at Roach from opposing camps might just be rooted in Pacquiao’s recent run of dominance. Nobody has been able to beat the Filipino, who was heavier than he has ever been at an official weigh-in. The Pacquiao reign isn’t expected to change against Clottey in a ring above the 50-yard line and beneath the biggest and brightest high-definition screen in this video universe and maybe a few others.

An undercurrent of rancor between the Clottey camp and Roach starts with Lenny DeJesus, who moved into Clottey’s corner as the lead trainer when Godwin Kotey of Ghana could not get a U.S. visa in time to travel to Dallas.

DeJesus was Pacquiao’s cutman. His role ended in 2005 after the Filipino’s loss to Erik Morales. It also was the last time Pacquiao lost. That fight represents some important history. DeJesus hopes it repeats itself. Roach has been making sure that it won’t. Pacquiao was badly cut over the left eye in the fifth round by head butt. DeJesus couldn’t stop the bleeding. Pacquiao, bothered by a river blood the flowed over and into his eye, couldn’t see well enough to stop Morales. Pacquiao lost a decision. DeJesus lost his job.

With Clottey, DeJesus has an opportunity at revenge with a durable fighter whose best weapon might be a head butt. A clash of heads against Cotto in June almost allowed Clottey to escape New York’s Madison Square Garden with a major upset instead of a loss by split decision.

“We won’t be there for that to happen,’’ Roach said of the head-butt possibility. “We’re at perfect fighting weight.”

Roach paused and added:

“We’re where we want to be.’’

Pacquiao has been for a while. That’s no joke.

Photo by Chris Farina / Top Rank

Seven-time world champion and “Fighter of the Decade” Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao and challenger Joshua Clottey weigh in(Pacquiao 145.75 lb, Clottey 147 lb) at Cowboys Stadium Friday for their upcoming World Welterweight championship on Saturday,March 13 at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington,Texas on HBO Pay-Per-View

Manny Pacquiao 145 3/4 – Joshua Clottey 147

PHILADELPHIA (MARCH 11, 2010)—This Saturday night in Arlington, Texas the first big fight of the new decade will take place as pound for pound king Manny Pacquiao will battle Joshua Clottey for the WBO Welterweight title at the beautiful Cowboys Stadium

Clottey will be wearing the Cov Glove for the big bout which will be fought in front of over 45,000 fans in the stadium, millions on HBO Pay-Per-View and countless around the world.\

The Cov Glove is a synthetic texture that covers the tape around the wrist. The Cov Glove protects the fighter from having his tape come loose.

“Joshua has been a big supporter of the product since day one”, said David Price, founder and CEO of Cov Glove

“For him to wear it in such an important fight shows that he has confidence in the product and hopefully the fans all over the world are able to see the value of the Cov Glove in this fight.”

GRAPEVINE, Tex. – Antonio Margarito had hoped to fight Saturday night in Texas. He won’t. But he did show up Thursday night at the official hotel for the Manny Pacquiao-Joshua Clottey fight Saturday night and talked about his comeback in Mexico, his hopes for a fight in the United States and said again that he never knew his ex-trainer tried to load his gloves with a plaster-like substance before a loss to Shane Mosley.

“It was not my fault,’’ Margarito told 15 Rounds in a crowded lobby at the Gaylord Texan when asked about the glove controversy. “It is something my trainer did wrong.’’

Margarito’s license in California was revoked after his former trainer, Javier Capetillo, told the California State Athletic Commission that he inadvertently placed pieces of a plaster-like substance in his hand wraps. The substance was found when Mosley trainer Nazim Richardson asked Capetillo to re-wrap the hands before a bout at the Staples Center in Los Angeles in January, 2008.

Margarito’s license was revoked for a year. He was able to re-apply on Feb. 11. Promoter Bob Arum had planned for him to fight on the Pacquiao-Clottey undercard. Arum said there wasn’t enough time to complete the process. Margarito can apply anywhere, but there has been public pressure for him to first re-apply in California.

“I’m letting my attorneys handle that,’’ the Spanish-speaking Margarito said through an interpreter.

Meanwhile, Margarito, who has reunited with trainer Robert Garcia, said there is nothing he can do about public suspicions that he had to know his gloves were loaded.

“I can only go into the ring,’’ he said. “Only in the ring. That’s where the truth is.’’

Margarito said he is planning to be at Cowboys Stadium Saturday night because he hopes to fight Pacquiao, a heavy favorite over Clottey. There already is speculation that Arum will make a Pacquiao-Margarito fight if another round of talks for Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather, Jr. unravel a second time.

Margarito, who said he been training in Tijuana for a May 8 comeback in Mexico against Carson Jones, also said he would agree to a rematch with Miguel Cotto, whom he beat badly in July, 2008 in Las Vegas.

“Just name the time and the place,’’ he said. “Anytime, anywhere.’’

Photo by Chris Farina/ Top Rank

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, WBO Jr. Welterweight champion Timothy Bradley will make his first appearance on HBO on June 26th against Luis Carlos Abregu at the Agua Caliente resort in Rancho Mirage, Calif.

“Tim wants to fight the best 140-pounders in the world — Amir Khan, Devon Alexander, [Marcos] Maidana, you name it,” Said Cameron Dunkin swho is Bardley’s manager at the Gaylord Texan hotel, the fight headquarters for Saturday’s Pacquiao-Joshua Clottey fight at Cowboys Stadium in nearby Arlington. “Hopefully, this is the start of getting those big fights.”

“He’s a really strong guy with a good chin and he’s bigger than Tim. He’s physical and puts on great fights,” Dunkin said of the 27-year-old Abregu.

Said Sean Gibbons, Abregu’s agent, “It’s a great opportunity for Abregu to be on HBO. He’s a bigger, stronger guy than Bradley and he’s got nothing to lose by taking the fight. We can’t wait.”

“Timmy did not sign a thing with Showtime,” Dunkin said. “He certainly appreciates what they have done for him and he loves Showtime, but he has to take this opportunity.”

Seven-time world champion and “Fighter of the Decade” Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao speaks with reporters during television satellite interviews Thursday for his upcoming World Welterweight championship against challenger Joshua Clottey on Saturday,March 13 at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington,Texas on HBO Pay-Per-View

Photos by Chris Farina / Top Rank

ARLINGTON, Tex. – It’s all about the building. Cowboys Stadium is the main event. It sits there, below a flight path to a Dallas-Fort Worth runway, rising toward the Texas sky like a giant tent. It’s the big top, a technical marvel that sometimes sounds as if it could be a ride at Disney World.

Next stop:

Manny Pacquiao-versus-Joshua Clottey.

How a Filipino, Pacquiao and an African, Clottey, wound up in the featured event at a state-of-the-art home for America’s Team is either baffling, or just another American import, or a terrific story about diversity. Take your pick. But the fight Saturday night in a ring on the 50-yard-line is unmistakably about location, location, location for a lost sport always trying to find its way back into the mainstream.

For one night at least, Cowboys Stadium looms as a symbol of boxing’s aspirations. Promoter Bob Arum, who has seen just about everything, hasn’t witnessed anything quite like it in the many years since Muhammad Ali’s victory over Cleveland Williams in 1966 at Houston’s space-age Astrodome.

“Since the Astrodome, I have never been in a situation when the venue plays as big a role as the fighters,’’ Arum said.

If Pacquiao wins as predicted, the stadium could become the star.

“Whatever works,’’ Arum said.

What’s at work in the Dallas Metroplex is a potential shift in how boxing markets itself. Over at least the last decade, it has become a casino sport. That means Las Vegas and high-rollers in ringside seats. The rest of the crowd is in the anonymous pay-per-view audience, unheard and known only by a number.

In Dallas, there’s not much talk about the pay-per-view numbers for Pacquiao-Clottey. The guess is between 750,000 and 1,000,000 for the HBO telecast. Good, but not great and probably a long way from the pay-per-view audience expected for the Floyd Mayweather-Shane Mosley showdown on May 1 at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand.
But who’s counting. Only one thing matters here: In moving a bout
with the sport’s biggest international star in Pacquiao from Vegas to an untapped boxing market, it looks as if Arum is reaching out to a new audience with some old-fashioned salesmanship. He’s beginning to go door-to-door, or at least town-to-town.

“Bringing fights to the people,’’ said Arum, who in Pacquiao has a candidate for the Filipino Congress in a campaign that started with a party called the People’s Champ Movement.

The idea is as old as any entertainer hitting the road. If a live crowd likes what it hears or sees, there’s a good chance many in the audience will buy a CD or T-shirt or poster. With a big Mexican and Mexican-American population, Dallas is a good place to find some new pay-per-view customers. After Dallas, Arum moves on to Miguel Cotto-Yuri Foreman at the new Yankee Stadium in New York where he hopes to re-awaken some of history’s legends, including Joe Louis’ rematch victory over Max Schmeling at old Yankee Stadium in a 1938 bout that has become part of the American fabric. Then, the itinerary could include a stop in south Florida at Land Shark Stadium, the Miami Dolphins home.

“You get stale, doing the same thing over and over, going back to casinos to put on these big events,’’ Arum said.

Stale would have been just fine if the showdown had been Pacquiao-Mayweather at the MGM Grand. In fact, a poll probably would have shown a public overwhelmingly in favor of stale. But the Pacquiao-Mayweather possibility fell apart over Mayweather’s demands for Olympic-style blood-testing. Arum traded in stale for intriguing. Will it work? Maybe not.

If Pacquiao is somehow upset by, say, a Clottey head butt and suffers his first loss since a head butt bloodied him in 2005 against Erik Morales, Arum might get nostalgic about stale old days. If Pacquiao prevails, however, there is an opportunity for boxing to re-invent itself all over again.

In Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, Arum appears to have found a kindred spirit. Jones knows that atmosphere is a key to the entertainment art form. If the customers have a good time, they will either be back in line for a ticket or buy the next pay-per-view. It’s no secret that the best advertising is word of mouth. Jones says that only seven percent of NFL fans have ever seen a game in an NFL stadium. But the rest of the country has heard from that seven percent. They have tuned in and turned the NFL into the modern American pastime.

Jones, who says he boxed as an amateur as a 10-year-old at the Boys Club in Little Rock, Ark., is a longtime fan. He remembers days when Roberto Duran and Sugar Ray Leonard fought in Montreal and then in New Orleans. He traveled to Las Vegas to watch Leonard and Marvin Hagler and Thomas Hearns.

“I’ve always thought boxing needs more exposure,’’ Jones said.

In Las Vegas, Jones entry into the sport must looks like a threat, a hostile takeover. Jones bid $25 million, which would have been a record site fee, for Mayweather-Pacquiao. But that possibility was headed to Vegas’ MGM Grand even before talks unraveled

“I wanted that fight, between those two guys, worse than my next breath,’’ Jones said.

Up and down the Vegas Strip, casino executives are holding their breath at what he might try next, especially if Pacquiao-Clottey is a success.

“But I think this is good and not a negative for Las Vegas to have a great fight in front of thousands of people,’’ Jones said in what might prove to be a new look at Sin City’s best-known marketing campaign.

What stays in Vegas isn’t always good for Vegas.

Or boxing.

Photo by Chris Farina / Top Rank

Challenges WBO/IBF Heavyweight Champion Wladimir Klitschko in Dusseldorf, Germany on Saturday, March 20th

Six Questions With the #1-rated WBO Heavyweight Contender.

Los Angeles, CA (March 11, 2010) – Top American heavyweight “Fast Eddie” Chambers (35-1, 18 KOs) is set to take on Ukrainian giant and WBO/IBF World Heavyweight Champion Wladimir “Dr. Steelhammer” Klitschko (53-3, 47 KOs) on Saturday night, March 20th, at the 51,000 seat ESPRIT Arena in Dusseldorf, Germany.

This will be the first world title opportunity for Chambers and his third time fighting on German soil. He sustained his only loss as a pro by decision in Berlin to Alexander Povetkin in his first visit back in January, 2008, and stopped another mammoth-sized Ukrainian – undefeated 6-7 Alexander Dimitrenko – in his most recent outing in Hamburg last July 4th.

Goossentutor.com now takes you “Inside the Mind” of Chambers leading into the final days prior to the biggest fight of his career with “Six Questions” for the American hopeful:

GOOSSENTUTOR.COM: How are you feeling both physically and mentally going into the biggest fight of your career against Wladimir Klitschko?

CHAMBERS: “I feel great, both physically and mentally! I’m in the best shape of my career. We’ve done a lot of things in camp to prepare both physically and mentally. We’ve been away from the everyday situations of being at home that we have been able to focus on the task at hand. We came up here to the Poconos to get that focus, work hard and do whatever is necessary to win this title fight.”

GOOSSENTUTOR.COM: Your Goossen Tutor stablemates – Tony Thompson and Chris Arreola – both lost to a Klitschko brother in world title fights. Were you able to take anything away from watching their fights and why do you feel that you can do what they could not – which is to win?

CHAMBERS: “I have a different set of skills than both of them, although I did see there were certain things that they did in their fights. One thing in particular was that they didn’t get their jabs in enough. Although Tony pressured Wladimir a great deal, even on one leg, he was able to make it very difficult at times for Wladimir to dominate the fight. And Chris also was using his jab and at times effectively. But he stood in front of Vitali too much. They really didn’t take advantage of their opportunities. With me, on the other hand, I use different angles, different movement and work my jab and stay behind my jab and will not allow Vladimir to keep his distance all day and pound away.”

GOOSSENTUTOR.COM: Do you feel more at ease going to Germany fighting for a third time?

CHAMBERS: “I am more used to it. My first time let me know that you can’t be short-training, just thinking all day about the fight and not enjoying the experience and have fun with it. This is supposed to be a life experience and you’re supposed to enjoy it. And if you just sit tight in your room and not enjoy the people and the experience of what you’re trying to be – a star in boxing – then it really isn’t going to work out for you. With the fight with Dimitrenko and now this fight, I’m just going to enjoy myself and experience going over there.”

GOOSSENTUTOR.COM: Like Wladimir Klitschko, your last opponent – Alexander Dimitrenko – entered the ring with a 6-inch height and reach advantage. You were very effective in out-boxing him. Can you fight Wladimir the same way or does his style cause you to make adjustments?

CHAMBERS: “I think you can in certain ways fight Wladimir the same way because they both fight from a distance. But you can’t just stand in front of Wladimir because with his long reach he’ll keep you at bay. I have to jab and move and do different things before I just come in and try and engage in the offense.”

GOOSSENTUTOR.COM: “Whom have you been sparring with to prepare for Klitschko?

CHAMBERS: “I had one guy who’s very tall and a good boxer and mover in Marcellus Brown. I also had Sean McClain, who is a guy who was busy and threw a lot of punches and we normally put him in around the middle to late rounds. And then we had Malik Scott come in. He’s a fast, tall boxer who would move and give me different angles and different looks and made me work to get in the last shot.”

GOOSSENTUTOR.COM: What can boxing fans expect from “Fast Eddie” Chambers on Saturday night, March 20th?

CHAMBERS: “A lot of speed; a lot of ability and movement and an overall work rate that it takes to be the heavyweight champion of the world on the night of March 20th.”

www.goossentutor.com

Photo by Claudia Bocanegra

Dannon Svab, Owner of Explosive Fight Promotions, has told 15Rounds.com that he will be returning to Akron, Ohio for an evening of exciting MMA action along with two Championship fights. Caged Madness 15 will take place at the popular MMA venue Pronio Sports in Akron, Ohio. Pronio Sports is located at 2420 Wedgewood Dr. in Akron, Ohio.

Svab told us “When we last spoke about my January show, I told you that this was going to be our biggest event yet, I was wrong. The January show was amazing but this one will be even bigger. We have stepped up a few notches in our promotion and have secured top level local fighters for this card. We are almost sold out already and the event is still a few days away. Each show keeps getting bigger”

Popular ring announcer George Phillips will once again be the man with the microphone for Caged Madness 15. “George has been with me from day one, and he takes our shows to another level. George knows how to work a crowd and is a promoter’s dream because he does him homework prior to arriving at the fight” said Svab

If you are in the Akron area, this is a can’t miss show. “For the entertainment dollar you are not going to find a better place to be than Caged Madness 15” Svab adds.

Explosive Fight Promotions brings a positive outlook to the fight game by displaying integrity, honesty and hard work while providing fight fans great shows they will want to see again. Led by a promoter who still makes fight deals with a man’s word and a handshake.

Tickets are available at the door or visit www.explosivefightpromotions.com for more information.

KING OF PRUSSIA, PA (MARCH 10, 2010)—On Thursday at The King of Prussia Convention Center, Former Lightweight world champion, Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini will be unveiling a new wine collection.

Southpaw Wine which is a Cabernet Sauvignon which is part of the Luva Bella Winery and Juice Company.

Mancini will be at The Convention Center from 10am to 5pm.

Mancini had a distinguished ring career as he posted a record of 29-5 with twenty-three knockouts while capturing the WBA Lightweight and becoming one of the most popular fighters of the 1980’s.

Besides being involved with Southpaw Wine, Mancini owns a cigar company as well as two movie production companies.

This Saturday night, Manny Pacquiao will put his streak of brilliance on the line in one of the world’s most remarkable buildings. Four months ago the Dallas Cowboys’ brand new billion dollar stadium was poised to hold the long awaited showdown between Pacquiao and Mayweather, but it was not to be. While boxing fans from all four corners of the globe were dejected when the fight was scrapped, Joshua Clottey was gleaming from ear to ear. The Ghana native steps into an opportunity of a lifetime on one of the biggest stages imaginable, and presents Manny Pacquiao with what some say will be his most demanding physical challenge to date.

Manny Pacquiao

Record: 50-3-2 (38 KO’s)

Former Flyweight, Super Bantamweight, Featherweight, Junior Lightweight, Lightweight, Junior Welterweight and current WBO Welterweight champion. Currently recognized as the number one fighter in the world pound for pound.

Age: 31

Home: General Santos City, Philippines

Notable wins: Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Miguel Cotto, Erik Morales, Juan Manuel Marquez, Marco Antonio Barrera

Notable losses: Erik Morales

Joshua Clottey

Record: 35-3 (20 KO’s)

Former WBO Welterweight champion

Home: Bronx, NY via Accra, Ghana

Age: 32

Notable wins: Diego Corrales, Zab Judah

Notable losses: Antonio Margarito, Miguel Cotto, Carlos Baldomir

Speed/Athletecism

Weighing the athleticism variable in a Pacquiao fight is almost a formality. There is only one man in boxing that can match the Pac Man’s athleticism and that’s Floyd Mayweather. Clottey is a strong, formidable opponent but as far as speed and athleticism will go this will be a mismatch. If Clottey is going to beat Manny Pacquiao it’s going to have to be by doing something other than trying to outwork the Pac Man. Pacquiao is in a different stratosphere and I see his athletic skill set as the gamebreaker in this fight.

Advantage: Pacquiao

Matt’s Take: Pacquiao has tremendous athleticism and in terms of putting combinations together, his hand speed is second to none. They are essentially his bread and butter. Clottey has decent athleticism and average speed at best, but doesn’t heavily rely on either to help him emerge victorious. Many of the shots he landed in his fight against Miguel Cotto were due to terrific timing, not quick hands.

Advantage: Pacquiao

Power

This one is a bit trickier. Do you look at knock out percentages or brute strength? One would imagine Clottey is the stronger man, but Pacquiao has knocked more welterweights lately than Clottey, who has recorded one stoppage since 2004. I’d lean with Pacquiao here as well. I firmly believe the brunt of Pacquiao’s power is in his killer instinct. It was hard to find a those instincts in the Joshua Clottey that fought Cotto, and that could be his downfall in this bout. Where Clottey slips up, Pacquiao will capitalize.

Advantage: Pacquiao

Matt’s Take: It’s no secret that Manny Pacquiao has true pound for pound punching power ala Thomas Hearns; just ask naturally bigger opponents in Ricky Hatton, Miguel Cotto and Oscar De La Hoya. In his two fights at welterweight (where he meets Clottey), Pacquiao has used fast, hard combinations to batter the aforementioned Cotto and De La Hoya, making him a heavy handed fighter even as an undersized 147 pounder.

Clottey’s power has always been underrated in my book. Clottey, easily the biggest active welterweight, has tremendous physical strength and the ability to throw noteworthy punches at any given time. He hurt former world champion Zab Judah and also made things quite uncomfortable for Cotto in their June 2009 match up. He possesses a unique punching style, which I have always been a fan of, which includes body-head combinations and double hooks up top. While the man known as “Hitter” can definitely do damage if he connects, Pac Man’s other alias is “The Destroyer” for a reason.

Advantage: Pacquiao

Defense/Chin

If Clottey has a shot at knocking off Pacquiao it lies in his defense. Clottey survived twelve rounds with Antonio Margarito, and I hate to go there, but who knows what was in Margarito’s gloves at that time. Clottey’s defensive success may be a testament to his refusal to take risks, but that flaw nudges him ahead of Pacquiao in this category.

Pacquiao hasn’t hit the canvas in years, but he has hit the canvas nonetheless. If I see one scenario that has Clottey winning this bout it’s a product of him using his strength and defense to control the pace of the bout. Clottey won’t make himself as presentable a target like Pacquiao’s most recent opponents and that may be the one thing that could propel him to a decision victory.

Advantage: Clottey

Matt’s Take: Pacquiao has had a good chin since day one. Although he was twice knocked out as a severely weight drained youngster, he has consistently shown the ability to take a punch. The best proof of his proficient chin is something he once was; a poor defensive fighter. The old, lighter Pacquiao had no problem trading punches with anybody at any time, but the 140-147 lb version boxes and moves a lot more effectively. Moving up in weight gave him the opportunity to build up his legs, thus he avoids punches far better than in years prior. On the contrary, he had trouble avoiding Cotto’s jab in their November super fight and against a strong fighter like Clottey that could be a problem.

Like many African fighters, Clottey has an effective high guard defense and a good beard. His defensive style is very effective and he rarely gets hit with flush shots. Basic or not, Clottey’s defensive abilities are frustrating for opponents. His chin isn’t an easy target to find, but even when he was hit, Clottey weathered the storm. The rugged Ghanaian has never been seriously hurt and his only trip to the canvas (against Cotto) was due to him being off balance.

Advantage: Clottey

Heart

Yet another category that is hard to pick against Manny in. On top of being arguably the fighter of the decade, Pac Man has taken part in several fight of the decade candidates. Surprisingly, I saw more heart from Manny in his first bout with Marquez than I have seen in a long time. After putting his man down three times in the first round only to have him claw back into the fight, Manny stayed with it despite giving up the draw.

Clottey will come into Cowboy’s stadium with a world of desire behind him, but heart is something that either you have or you don’t. I believe Joshua Clottey does to an extent, but anyone who lets a defeated Miguel Cotto survive, and throw enough punches to steal the bout from him will have trouble matching the heart, desire and killer instinct of Manny Pacquiao.

Advantage: Pacquiao

Matt’s Take: Pacquiao is as gutsy as they come. He’s a number of times and never had any issue adopting to take on a bigger fighter (see above). His willingness to exclusively mix it up when he fought the world’s best in lower weight classes simply can not be overlooked, even if he has changed his style a bit. Manny has also taken the heart of many of his opponents, such as De La Hoya, Hatton, Cotto and Barrera.

Manny may very well take exactly that from Clottey, since this is perhaps his biggest weakness. The late, great Arturo Gatti and even a more fragile fighter like Floyd Mayweather have fought multiple times with hand injuries and other distractions, proving when the going gets tough, the tough get going. Unfortunately this isn’t the case for former WBO Welterweight champion.

Clottey went into a shell after injuring his hand against Margarito in 06, squandering a good start en route to losing a decision. Against Cotto, he didn’t fare much better, electing to cover up on the ropes rather than throw back consistent combinations when the rugged Puerto Rican applied heavy pressure. Unless his questionable antics change, he is in for a rough night against an opponent who has snatched the heart out of some of boxing’s best.

Advantage: Clottey

Experience

Joshua Clottey will take part in a fight that draws the eyes of the sports world onto him, and it will be the first time that he has done so. Pacquiao meanwhile has been to this dance before. Pac Man has captured titles at a number of weight classes, stared down boxing legends, and had the morale of an entire country on his shoulders.

Clottey is by no means a wide eyed kid in over his head, the 32 year old has fought all over the world against different breeds of boxers, but it’s hard to find a resume` that measures up to Pacquiao’s. It’s been reported that ticket sales are around 45,000, a far bigger audience than either fighter is accustomed too. I don’t know that either man has a case of stage fright but on a scale this big I’d have to give the edge to Pacquiao.

Advantage: Pacquiao

Matt’s Take: When I say Pacquiao has fought everyone, I mean Pacquiao has fought everyone. Oscar De La Hoya, Miguel Cotto, Ricky Hatton, Juan Manuel Marquez and Marco Antonio Barrera (twice each) and Erik Morales (three times) among others, there are very few noteworthy opponents he missed along the way. In addition, Pacquiao fought all of the aforementioned opponents on pay per view and has delivered masterpieces when the most eyes were on him.

Whether it is an asset to how dangerous of an opponent he is or the fact his inability to capitalize under the bright lights, Clottey is lacking in experience compared to Pacquiao. His most notable opponents were Cotto, Margarito, Judah, the late, great Diego Corrales and Carlos Baldomir. Outside of those five, three of whom have beaten him, Clottey’s fought mostly gate keeper type opponents.

Advantage: Pacquiao

The Verdict:

I have a shot for shot screenplay of this bout playing out in my head. It’s of an aggressive Manny Pacquiao overwhelming Joshua Clottey with a high volume of punches. Clottey is game, but careful. He knows that taking a risk of any kind will land him into deep trouble so he finishes the fight by kicking it into safety mode. Pacquiao doesn’t walk through Clottey the way he did Hatton and Cotto, but walks away with an impressive decision.

Verdict: Pacquiao UD

Matt’s Take: Clottey is regularly criticized for not throwing enough punches. His loss to Cotto serves perfect example of why he is a fighter that can do far more on the offensive end, but for one reason or another, chooses not to. Rather than going to take the title from the champion by making sure his hands were consistently busy, Clottey had too many Punchless spurts and cost himself the fight; as he did against Margarito.

Pacquiao throws terrific combinations and moves well enough to avoid return shots from his much slower opponent on Saturday night. The Filipino icon’s busy hands and Clottey’s inability to get going on a steady basis will spell trouble for the latter. Clottey’s natural size advantage, good chin and defense will likely help him make it to the final bell, albeit as a loser in the majority of the rounds.

Verdict: Pacquiao UD

Photo by Chris Farina / Top Rank

Surrounded by the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders, seven-time world champion and “Fighter of the Decade” Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao(L) and challenger Joshua Clottey(R) pose during the final press conference Wednesday for their upcoming World Welterweight championship on Saturday,March 13 at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington,Texas on HBO Pay-Per-View.

Photos by Chris Farina / Top Rank

United States boxing has practically fallen off the map, but Heavyweight Factory founder Kris Lawrence believes that he can unveil the next heavyweight champion out of South Florida. Florida has always been known for its gazelle like athletes, and in boxing, speed kills. Lawrence’s Heavyweight Factory Gym in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida is actively looking for the next heavyweight champion in some unusual places.

Famous boxing trainer Teddy Atlas once stated that “ Ray Lewis could have been the next heavyweight champion, but instead he plays middle linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens.” Well Lewis is one of those Florida athletes that the Heavyweight Factory is craving to find. The football gridiron, basketball court or baseball diamond are places that local Florida athletes can expect to be approached by Heavyweight Factory scouts. Lawrence had this to say about his determination and vision of uncovering the next champ. “I have always loved boxing. It’s a great idea. There is a heavyweight world champion down here, he just hasn’t been found. It’s like having a big gold mine, you just have to find that major vein. I know just about every aspect of boxing there is to know. This is something new and refreshing for boxing. I really think it’s going to work. It will take a three- to five-year plan to develop a champion. It’s not about the money. It’s about doing something for a sport that I love that could change boxing.”

A look around the new world-class 15,000 foot facility that Lawrence built indicates that he means business. The three rings being used in simultaneous chaos by muscle bound former collegiate athletes tells the tale. These are elite physical specimens that have decided to use their athletic prowess in the hurt business. On April 13th from the Hard Rock Hotel , 6’1” 250 Lb. former University of Memphis linebacker and Florida native Carlton Baker will get his chance to put Lawrence’s vision into play. Baker will be making his pro debut as the co-main event to former world champion Shannon Briggs, who is The Heavyweight Factory’s separate reclamation product. Will the experiment work? Only time will tell, but with the gym located across from the Hard Rock Casino I am willing to make a bet that it will.

Atlantic City, NJ—Unbeaten Mike Jones, of Philadelphia, PA, takes on Hector “The Hurricane” Munoz, of Albuquerque, NM, in the fifth defense of his North American Boxing Association (NABA) welterweight title in a scheduled 10-round contest on Saturday evening, April 17, at in the 10,000-seat Boardwalk Hall.

In the scheduled 12-round main event, to be televised by HBO, Kelly Pavlik of Youngstown, OH, defends his WBC/WBO middleweight titles against Sergio Martinez, of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Jones, 26, scored the biggest win of his career Feb. 27 when he earned a unanimous 10-round decision over former world-title challenger Henry Bruseles, of Gurabo, Puerto Rico, in front of a standing-room-only crowd in the Grand Ballroom of Bally’s Atlantic City.

A pro since 2005, Jones is 20-0, 16 K0s. He was ranked No. 8 by the World Boxing Association (WBA), No. 11 by the International Boxing Federation (IBF) and No. 16 by the World Boxing Council (WBC) prior to the win over Bruseles.

Munoz, 31, has a record of 18-2-1, 11 K0s. In his last fight, Munoz was stopped in the 12th round by undefeated top contender (No. 3 WBA, No. 2 WBO) Antonin DeCarie, of Montreal, Canada.

Tickets for this blockbuster card are priced at $50, $100, $200 and $350. They are on sale at the offices of Peltz Boxing Promotions (215-765-0922) and all Ticketmaster outlets (1-800-745-3000). Tickets also can be purchased online at www.peltzboxing.xcom and www.Ticketmaster.com.

— A standing-room-only crowd of media and fans showed up to see seven-time world champion and “Fighter of the Decade” Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao shadow box during training for his upcoming World Welterweight championship against challenger Joshua Clottey on Saturday,March 13 at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington,Texas on HBO Pay-Per-View.

Photos by Chris Farina/Top Rank

Seven-time world champion and “Fighter of the Decade” Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao takes a morning run with his dog ‘Pacman’ Tuesday morning for his upcoming World Welterweight championship against challenger Joshua Clottey on Saturday,March 13 at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington,Texas on HBO Pay-Per-View.

Photos by Chris Farina / Top Rank

Seven-time world champion and “Fighter of the Decade” Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao arrives in Dallas with his wife Jinkee on Monday night for his upcoming World Welterweight championship against challenger Joshua Clottey on Saturday,March 13 at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas,Texas on HBO Pay-Per-View.

Photos by Chris Farina / Top Rank

NEW YORK (MARCH 8, 2010)—This past Saturday night in Atlantic City, welterweight contender Shamone “The Truth” Alvarez may have put on his most complete performance to date and shot himself right back in to title contention as he scored an emphatic knockout in round seven of their ten round Welterweight bout at The Tropicana Hotel and Casino.

All the action was streamed live all over the world on www.gofightlive.tv and is now available on-demand for fans to witness this terrific five bout card for just $6.99

Alvarez looked sensational as he stood in the pocket with the heavy handed Camacho and landed counteless left hands until he dropped Camacho twice in round seven in ending the bout and with that victory, he may have catapulted himself back into contention to compete for the Welterweight championship.

Alvarez of Atlantic City is now 21-2 with twelve knockouts.

In the exciting co-feature, heavyweight Vinny Maddalone once again got himself into a war and then finally stopped Dominique Alexander in round five of a scheduled eight round bout.

Maddalone pressured Alexander consistently against the ropes and landed heavy body and head shots that had Alexander on the defensive for most of the bout. Maddalone scored four knockdowns with the final one coming in round five.

Maddalone upped his record to 33-6 with twenty-four knockouts.

There were exciting undercard bouts which included Light Heavyweight Chuck Mussachio (15-1-2) have a tough time before scoring a six round unanimous decision over then “Tougher Than his record” Richard Dalphone (2-6-3)

Ismael Garcia made a successful pro debut as he scored a four round unanimous decision over previously undefeated Josh Mercado (3-1) in a battle of Welterweights from Southern New Jersey.

In the opener, former world Jr. Amateur champion, Joey Dawejko moved to 3-0 with a impressive four round unanimous decision over KC Cunningham in a Heavyweight bout.

To order this great night of boxing for just $6.99, click

http://www.gofightlive.tv/showEvent.do?eventId=589

“FAST“EDDIE CHAMBERS—LIVE THIS WEDNESDAY AT 10 AM EASTERN

Just days before he leaves for Germany to fight Wladimir Klitschko for THE Heavyweight championship of the world, Philadelphia’s “Fast” Eddie Chambers will meet the American media one last time and will give his insights on how his preparation for the big fight on March 20th.

This rare look into a press conference will be streamed LIVE all over the world for FREE at 10 am eastern time by clicking:

http://www.gofightlive.tv/playVideo.do?videoId=2319&resolution=Medium&playerSize=Large

BROWN – GRANO II THIS FRIDAY NIGHT

This Friday night from the Foxwoods, hotel and resort, a rematch of one of the wildest heavyweight fights memory will take place as Mark “Oak Tree” Brown will take on Tony “TNT” Grano in a grudge match.

On September 27th, 2008, it was Brown who pulled off a miracle comeback by scoring a eighth (and final round) knockout over Grano after Brown was knocked down several times leading up to that improbable eighth round.

Friday night, Grano (16-1-1, 13 KO’s) gets his chance at revenge. Grano, himself is coming off a comeback stoppage and nig upset over heralded prospect Travis Kauffman late in 2009.

Brown of Salam, New Jersey has a record of 15-2 with seven knockouts and is looking to get back in the win column after being stopped by former heavyweight title chgallenger, Fres Oquendo on June 26th, 2009.

Also seeing action is Bantamweight contender, Mike Oliver (22-2, 7 KO’s) as well as former U.S. Olympian Sadam Ali (5-0, 2 KO’s)

The six bout card can be seen LIVE this Friday night for just $9.99 by clicking:

http://www.gofightlive.tv/showEvent.do?eventId=632

Much is made of Boxers fight at the Olympics and using them as a spring board to monetary gain once they opt to make there way in to the proffessional sport. Here’s a look at the guys who have won gold at a said Olympics and then gone on to enjoy further success in the way of World titles. Boxing first took place in the Olympics in the 1904 games and has remained ever since with only breaks for World War 1 & 2. In total 35 fighters have gone on to win a World title in the pro’s after winning Gold at the Olympics

Super Heavyweight – Over 201 – Lennox Lewis 1988 Olympic Champion (BRI) 3 time Heavyweight Champion. Wladimir Klitschko 1996 Olympic Champion (UKR) 2 time Heavyweight Champion.

Heavyweight – 201 – Joe Frazier 1964 Olympic Champion (USA) World Heavyweight Champion 1970-1973. George Foreman 1968 Olympic Champion (USA) World Heavyweight Champion 1973-1974 & 1994-1995. Ray Mercer 1988 Olympic Champion (USA) Heavyweight Champion 1991.

Light Heavyweight – 178 – Muhammad Ali 1960 Olympic Champion (USA) World Heavyweight, Mate Parlov 1972 Olympic Champion (YUG) World Light Heavyweight 1978. Leon Spinks 1976 Olympic Champion (USA) World Heavyweight Champion 1978. Slobodan Kacar 1980 Olympic Champion (YUG) World Light Heavyweight Champion 1985-1986. Vassiliy Jirov 1996 Olympic Champion (KAZ) Cruiserweight Champion 1999-2003. Andre Ward 2004 Olympic Champion (USA) Super Middleweight 2009-.

Middleweight – 165 – Floyd Paterson 1952 Olympic Champion (USA) Heavyweight Champion 1956-1959 & 1960-1962. Michael Spinks 1976 Olympic Champion (USA) 2 weight World Champion. Henry Maske 1988 Olympic Champion (USA) Light Heavyweight 1993-1996.

Light Middleweight – 156 – Frank Tate 1984 Olympic Champion (USA) Middleweight 1987-1988. David Reid 1996 Olympic Champion (USA) Light Middleweight 1999-2000.

Welterweight – 152 – Nino Benvenuti 1960 Olympic Champion (ITA) World Light Middleweight Champion 1965-1966 & Middleweight Champion 1967 & 1968-1970. Mark Breland 1984 Olympic Champion (USA) 2 time Welterweight champion 1987 & 1989-1990.

Light Welterweight – 141 – Sugar Ray Leonard 1976 Olympic Champion (USA) 5 weight World champion. Patrizio Oliva 1980 Olympic Champion (ITA) Light Welterweight Champion 1986-1987.

Lightweight – 132 – Pernell Whitaker 1984 Olympic Champion (USA) 4 weight World Champion. Oscar De La Hoya 1992 Olympic Champion (USA) 6 weight World Champion

Featherweight – 126 – Jackie Fields 1924 Olympic champion (USA), Meldrick Taylor 1984 Olympic Champion (USA) Light Welterweight 1988-1990 & Welterweight 1991-1992. Giovanni Parisi 1988 Olympic Champion (ITA) 2 weight World Champion.

Bantamweight – 119 – Maurizio Stecca 1984 Olympic Champion (USA) 2 time WBO Featherweight Champion. Kennedy McKinney 1988 Olympic Champion (USA) 2 time Super Bantamweight. Joel Casamayor 1992 Olympic Champion (USA) 2 weight World Champion. Istvan Kovacs 1996 Olympic Champion (HUN) Featherweight 2001.

Flyweight – 112 – Frankie Genaro 1920 Olympic champion (USA), Fidel La Barba Olympic champion 1924 (USA), Pascual Perez 1948 Olympic Champion (ITA) World Flyweight Champion1954-1960. Leo Randolph 1976 Olympic Champion (USA) World Bantamweight 1980. Yuriorkis Gamboa 2004 Olympic Champion (CUB) Featherweight 2009-

Light Flyweight – 106 – Brahim Asloum 2000 Olympic Champion (FRA) Light Flyweight Champion 2007-2008.

Here we look at the number of different weight classes and the number of fighters who won gold that turned pro.

Olympic Gold medallist to pro
Year & number of weight classes

1904 – 1/7
1908 – 1/5
1920 – 5/8 Frankie Genaro
1924 – 5/8 Jackie Fields, Fidel La Barba
1928 – 6/8
1932 – 6/8
1936 – 4/8
1948 – 6/8 Pascual Perez
1952 – 7/10 Floyd Paterson
1956 – 4/10
1960 – 5/10 Muhammad Ali, Nino Benvenuti
1964 – 3/10 Joe Frazier
1968 – 5/11 George Foreman
1972 – 2/11 Mate Parlov, Ray Leonard
1976 – 5/11 Leon Spinks, Michael Spinks, Leo Randolph
1980 – 3/11 Slobodan Kacar, Patrizio Oliva
1984 – 10/12 Frank Tate, Pernell Whitaker, Meldrick Taylor, Maurizio Stecca
1988 – 9/12 Lennox Lewis, Ray Mercer, Henry Maske, Mark Breland, Giovanni Parisi, Kennedy McKinney
1992 – 4/12 Oscar De La Hoya, Joel Casamayor
1996 – 5/12 Wladimir Klitschko, Vasiliy Jirov, David Reid, Isvan Kovacs
2000 – 4/12 Brahim Asloum
2004 – 6/11 Andre Ward, Yuriorkis Gamboa
2008 – 3/11

– 109/228

106 fighters who won Gold turned pro out of 228 fighters who have won Gold. Lazslo Papp won Gold in three consecutive Olympics & Guillermo Rigondeaux won Gold in two consecutive Olympics meaning 48% of fighters who won gold turned pro of that 33% of those fighters went onto to successfully win world titles.