Manny Pacquiao retained his welterweight title on Saturday (March 13) in Dallas, when he won a unanimous decision over Joshua Clottey, in a fight that was very one-sided.
Basically, Saturday's bout played out like a Pac-Man training exercise, as he ran circles around a overly cautious Clottey, pounding him with over 1,200 punches in 12 rounds.
From the opening bell, the Filipinio boxing superstar controlled the fight, throwing countless five and six punch combinations to the head and body, all while Clottey kept his arms locked together -- Winky Wright style -- in front of his face.
While most of Pacquiao's punches were blocked, he landed quit a few hard body shots, digging into the Africa fighter's ribs throughout.
Neither fighter hit the canvas though, but it was a dominating performance by the Filipino champion.
In the end, Pac-Man won the decision. Two judges scored it 119-109, the other 120-108.
"He's strong, a very good fighter," Pacquiao said following the fight. "I felt his power, but he was looking to land the big shot."
Clottey followed by saying that he knew he lost early on, admitting that the champ's speed was just too much to handle. "He has very good movement and great speed," he said. "It was very difficult for me to handle that. I didn't feel much of his power, but his movement really bothered me."
While Clottey's defensive tactics were enough to keep Manny from landing any really damaging blows, it didn't give him much of a chance of winning, simply because he didn't throw any punches ... or enough to matter.
After discussing the fight, HBO Boxing's Max Kellerman asked Pacquiao about his future boxing plans, specifically if a bout against Mayweather would be forthcoming. Manny replied by saying he's wants it, but it's in the hands of Floyd.
"I want that fight, but it's up to him," Pacquiao said. "The people want that fight. I'm ready to fight any time, but I don't think he's ready. Maybe if Mosley wins, I'll fight him. Floyd's style isn't that difficult, though."
According to Manny's trainer Freddie Roach, the pair have gone over Mayweather's boxing style countless times in the gym and even mock it while training. He says when the time comes, they "will crush him."
Another interesting note about the Pacquiao-Clottey bout was the fans in attendance. The fight pulled in a crowd of nearly 51,000 fans, the third largest draw in recent history.
While a Mayweather-Pacquiao showdown is still undecided, the Filipino fighter's immediate plans are to return to native Philippines to finish his run for Congress.
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