PREFIGHT
Nearly 51,000 fans are in attendance at Cowboys Stadium to witness Manny Pacquiao's WBO welterweight title defense against Joshua Clottey. Singing the Ghanaian National Anthem is Soraya Simons. Arnel Pineda sings the Filipino National Anthem. Britanny Evans, Sarah Gourley and Kristen Gauthier, three Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, sing the US National Anthem. I was skeptical, but they actually sounded pretty good. Joshua Clottey denied HBO the opportunity to weigh him tonight. Interesting. The challenger makes his way to the ring first. Man, that's a long walk from the locker room, as Clottey is still walking to the ring. Now he begins to dance as they start to play his entrance music, almost reminiscent of the entrance that Cory Spinks made in his rematch with Zab Judah...that's not a good sign. The champion, Manny Pacquiao, enters next. He's all smiles and looks extremely confident. He waves to the crowd as he makes his way to the ring. "Ladies and Gentleman...LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLEEEEEE!"
ROUND 1
Clottey runs to the center of the ring. Pacquiao fires his jab and lands a left to the body. Clottey covers up. Right hook to the body land for Pacquiao. Pacquiao lands a right and a left to the body. Clottey just covering up and not firing back. Pacquiao digs a hard left hook to the body. Clottey sneaks in a right hand. Jab lands for Clottey. Another jab lands for Clottey, but Pacquiao sneaks in a right hook over the top. Right to the body lands for Pacquiao. Clottey lands a right. Left lands for Clottey. Pacquiao lands a nice body shot. Another right lands for Clottey down the middle. Round to Pacquiao, but it could get interesting.
Pacquiao 10 Clottey 9
ROUND 2
Pacquiao fires some punches to Clottey's gloves that are all blocked. Right to the body lands for Pacquiao. Clottey lands a right down the middle. Left hook and another right sneaks in for Clottey. Pacquiao lands a right to the body. Pacquiao having a hard time breaking that guard. Clottey sneaks in a jab. 1-2 lands for Pacquiao. Clottey just covers up and continues to walk him down. Right hand oddwn the middle and a left hook to the body lands for Clottey. Quick combo lands for Pacquiao and Clottey clowns around a bit to show that he's not hurt. HARD upercut lands for Clottey. Pacquiao takes it well. They trade jabs. Hard left down the middle to the body lands for Pacquiao. They trade left hands. right upstairs lands for Clottey. Pacquiao peppers him with a quick combo at the bell. Round to Pacquiao.
Pacquiao 20 Clottey 18
ROUND 3
Pacquiao continues to try and find a way to break through Clottey's guard. Pacquiao lands a right to the body. Clottey sneaks in a right of his own. HARD upercut lands for Clottey again. Another right lands for Clottey...another. Pacquiao fires a combo and lands a left to the body. Another left to the body lands for Pacquiao. Clottey rips him with a left hook. This could get interesting. Clottey blocking a lot of Pac's punches. WOOOOO...HARD right hand lands for Clottey. Pacquiao lands some hard shots to the body that back Clottey up. Another hard uppercut lands for Clottey. right hand lands for Clottey. Pacquiao digs a left to the body and rakes him with a right upstairs. Nice body shots land for Pacquiao. Pacquiao continues to outwork him, but Clottey is landing some hard shots in there. Round to Pacquiao.
Pacquiao 30 Clottey 27
ROUND 4
Clottey backs Pacquiao up to the ropes. Pacquiao circles away. Right hand lands for Clottey. Pacquiao digs a 1-2 to the body. Pacquiao peppers him with some shots on his gloves. Six-punch combo from Pacquiao, but a lot of it was blocked. Now Pacquiao lands an uppercut and then hits Clottey with a double punch, sort of clapping Clottey's head between his gloves. Clottey lands a 1-2. Pacquiao backs him up to a corner and unloads a combo. Right hook lands for Pacquiao. Clottey's guard starting to come down a bit. HARD left hook lands upstairs fo Pacquiao. Clottey digs a 1-2 to the body. 1-2 upstairs lands for Clottey. Round to Pacquiao.
Pacquiao 40 Clottey 36
ROUND 5
Pacquiao circles around the ring. Clottey trying to turn up the pressure, but he's just not punching. Pacquiao just inviting him in. 1-2 lands for Clottey. Jab lands for Clottey. Another. Pacquiao fires a hard 1-2 that's partially blocked. Clottey lands a right down the middle. Jab lands for Clottey. Pacquiao just dances on the outside and peppers him with shots. Right hook upstairs and a left to the body lands for Pacquiao. Clottey starting to flinch a little from the body shots. Right hook to the body lands for Pacquiao. Clottey lands a left and a right. Pacquiao just invites him in again. A flurry of punches from Pacquiao, but a lot of those shots are blocked. Still, a lot are getting in too. Round to Pacquiao.
Pacquiao 50 Clottey 45
ROUND 6
A sense of urgency in Clottey's corner as they instruct him to take a chance. Pacquiao circles on the outside. Clottey sneaks in a jab. 1-2 from Clottey lands. Pacquiao just eats it against the ropes. Hard right hook to the body lands for Pacquiao. Right hook upstairs lands for Pacquiao. Left, right and a left lands for Pacquiao. Right hand lands for Clottey. Left to the body lands for Pacquiao. Two right hands land for Clottey. 1-2 lands for Clottey. Left and a right lands for Pacquiao. Another right. Pacquiao backs him up to the ropes with a nice combination. They trade jabs. Round to Pacquiao.
Pacquiao 60 Clottey 54
ROUND 7
Clottey lands a right to the body. Pacquiao invites him in. Right hand lands for Clottey. Pacquiao lands a right to the body. Clottey rakes him with a left cross. Pacquiao lands a right hook and then a nice combo to the body. Clottey lands a right. Another right lands for Clottey. Pacquiao digs a 1-2 to the body. Clottey lands a right to the body and an uppercut. Pacquiao backs him up with a six-punch combo. HARD right hand to the body lands for Clottey. Clottey lands a right. Right hook lands for Pacquiao upstairs. Straight right lands for Clottey. Round to Pacquiao.
Pacquiao 70 Clottey 63
ROUND 8
HARD left hook lands for Clottey to start the round. Pacquiao digs a 1-2 to the body. Clottey lands a right. Another. Pacquiao peppers his gloves with some shots. Left hook lands for Clottey. HARD four-punch combo to the body lands for Pacquiao. Pacquiao sneaks in a right. clottey just covers up. Left hook lands for Clottey. A low blow from Clottey causes a brief break in the action. Clottey lands a 1-2. Pacquiao answers with one of his own. They trade hooks. Pacquiao digs a right to the body. Another hard 1-2 to the body lands for Pacquiao and Clottey backs up. Another left lands for Pacquiao. Clottey just covers up. Left hook lands for Clottey at the back of the head and the crowd boos. Round to Pacquiao.
Pacquiao 80 Clottey 72
ROUND 9
Uppercut lands for Clottey. Pacquiao circles away. Pacquiao peppes his gloves with some jabs. Quick 1-2 to the body lands for Pacquiao. Clottey lands a right. Left hook lands for Clottey. Pacquiao lands an uppercut. Clottey lands a hard 1-2. Pacquiao invites him in. Clottey doesn't take the bait. Pacquiao peppers his body with a four-punch combo. Right hook lands for Pacquiao. HARD three-punch combo lands for Pacquiao and Clottey wobbles. He looks shook. They trade shots. Round to Pacquiao. Clottey's legs didn't look so hot at the end of the round. Pacquiao may get that knockout after all.
Pacquiao 90 Clottey 81
ROUND 10
Clottey just covers up. Pacquiao dances around and peppers him with some jabs. HARD right hook lands for Pacquiao. Left hook to the body lands for Pacquiao. Clottey catches him with his own left hook. 1-2 lands for Pacquiao. 1-2 lands for Pacquiao again. Clottey lands a left and then a leaping right hand. Uuppercut lands for Clottey. Pacquiao backs up. Another uppercut lands for Clottey. Pacquiao digs to the body. when Clottey punches, he has some success, but he just doesn't punch enough. Now Pacquiao turns up the heat and unloads a ten-punch combo that backs Clottey up to the corner. Round to Pacquiao.
Pacquiao 100 Clottey 90
ROUND 11
Clottey tries to rough him up on the inside. Pacquiao circles away and fires some jabs. Right hand lands for Clottey. Pacquiao lands a right hook upstairs. Uppercut lands for Clottey. Another. Pacquiao eats them. Nice body shots land for Pacquiao. Clottey tries to open up more, but Pacquiao overwhelms him with ten or more punches. Right hand lands for Clottey. Uppercut lands for Clottey...another...another. Pacquiao lands a 1-2 that wobbles Clottey again. Pacquiao backs him up to the corner and unloads on him again. Round to Pacquiao.
Pacquiao 110 Clottey 99
ROUND 12
Clottey lands a hard left hook. Another clash of heads. Pacquiao lands a a right hand down the middle. Left hand lands for Pacquiao. Clottey sneaks in a right again. Left hook and an uppercut lands for Clottey. Pacquiao backs him up with a 1-2. Left hand lands for Pacquiao. Clottey lands a right. Pacquiao sneaks in another left. Clottey covers up. Pacquiao works the body. Uppercut from Clottey blasts Pac's head back. Pacquiao smiles and circles away. Another quick combo from Pacquiao has Clottey covering up. `Clottey continues to cover and Manny works him with a combo at the bell. Round to Pacquiao.
Pacquiao 120 Clottey 108
THE WINNER BY UNANIMOUS DECISION...AND STILL WBO WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPION OF THE WORLD...MANNY PACQUIAO
Official judges scorecards:
120-108
119-109
119-109
COMPUBOX NUMBERS
Pacquiao total punches: 245/1231
Clottey total punches: 108/399
POSTFIGHT
"It's not an easy fight. It's hard...he's a very tough fighter...I can't believe it...he's a very tough opponent; he's a good fighter...he's strong," stated Pacquiao as he talked about his opponent. "I mean, I'm not in a hurry, because he's looking for a big shot...I knew he was waiting for timing, you know, counter puncher" he continued as he talked about his performance. When the possibility of a fight with Floyd Mayweather was brought up, Pacquiao replied, "I mean, I want that fight because the people want to see that fight. It's up to him if he's going to fight with me....for me, it's not a problem to fight him...I don't think he's ready right now...we're ready to fight any time." He continued, "He should win against Mosley because if not, maybe me and Mosley will fight." As for how the fight with Mayweather would play out, Pacquiao said, "I think his style is not difficult style like Clottey." Pacquiao closed the night by thanking his fans. "I want to thank all the people who come here tonight...Everybody, this fight is dedicated to you, all of you...and to all the boxing fans, this fight is dedicated to you, especially in the Philippines."
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