Long Live Da King!

For all intents and purposes, the "Event" between Manny Pacquiao and Joshua Clottey ended at the 1:37 mark of the fourth round.

It was at this point that Pacquiao unleashed a two-fisted punch, reminiscent of the legendary Filipino action star Fernando Poe Jr. (video from Fire Quinito's vast FPJ collection, hehe) 

Never mind that the fight actually lasted 12 rounds. Years from now, after the PacMan has been enshrined in the Boxing Hall of Fame, and Clottey largely forgotten, people will remember this bout solely because of that punch. It might even evolve into boxing's version of a "finishing move", something that when you see, you can say: " It's over!". In basketball, this would have been the equivalent of leaping over your defender for a dunk, or grabbing the ball midway through the shot for a block.

As for the fight itself, it became more of a glorified sparring session, with Pacquiao continuously peppering Clottey with punches left and right. It was unexciting for most part, as the latter rounds seemed to turn into replays of previous ones... Pacquiao chasing Clottey, who then covered up with his "turtle defense".

Clearly, Clottey's best moves of the night were the ones he made as he entered the ring for the fight introductions.


But make no mistake about it, Clottey was in the fight to win. I would disagree with those who say that Clottey choked, or was simply happy to make it through 12 rounds with the PacMan. After all, this is a guy who's nicknamed the "Grandmaster".  What I saw out there was a thinking boxer, who, realizing his physical limitations, attempted to engage in a war of attrition. It was the type of strategy that would have been universally acclaimed had it succeeded, but largely criticized as a dud if it failed. 


Pacquiao himself recognized that Clottey was just looking for the opportune time to land that big punch, and given the Ghanian's KO record, it was not far-fetched. Come to think of it, maybe Clottey drew some inspiration from FPJ movies as well. 

You know, the part where the hero gets pummeled the entire time, but wins in end.. 


Well, unfortunately for Clottey, it didn't work out that way. The opportune time never came, and the PacMan never gave him a chance. He must have realized too late that in this parallel universe, he was Max Alvarado, and Manny Pacquiao was Da King.


The "Grandmaster" should now be asking himself: did he commit a serious blunder that ultimately cost him the crown?


In the words of Manny himself: Yaaah!