Pacquiao marches on as Boxing's main attraction
The venue, the crowd, the atmosphere, all of it met and in some cases, exceeded expectations.
Boxing should absolutely return to Texas, where the third-largest crowd in U.S. boxing history (50,994) packed Cowboys Stadium to see Manny Pacquiao successfully defend his WBO welterweight title against Joshua Clottey on Saturday.
Only next time, it should come with a better fight.
The unwatchable nature of the fight it was, for the most part, had little to do with Pacquiao and everything to do with Clottey.
Pacquiao did what Pacquiao does. He threw punches in bunches... 1,231 to be exact. He chopped at Clottey's midsection like the ex-welterweight champ was a redwood and bombarded him with power shots from a variety of angles.
Clottey, in turn, did what Clottey does. He turned his forearms into a flesh and bone shield and his gloves into modified headgear that absorbed virtually everything Pacquiao threw at him. Of Pacquiao's 549 jabs, only three percent found their mark.
Clottey made a prophet out of most ringside reporters and did what Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach, suspected when he learned that Clottey had chosen the cushier Everlast gloves ("those gloves suck," Roach said) over the more puncher-friendly Reyes brand.
"I'm disappointed [in Clottey]. He's fighting for the title and he fought like he didn't want to win it." said Roach.
Of course he didn't want to win. He had already won. The Clottey camp declared victory the day they signed the contract that guaranteed them a reported $1.25 million with a cut of the pay-per-view money after the buys hit 300,000. Fighting Pacquiao wasn't about winning; it was about not getting hurt doing it. It was, of course, all too predictable. And it was a fight Bob Arum, one of boxing's driving forces who has both Pacquiao and Clottey in his stable, should have seen coming from a country mile.
Now the attention turns back to Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather, a fight the sport desperately needs but one that almost seems predestined never to occur. The two sides couldn't come to an agreement in January when neither fighter would budge over the issue of blood testing (Mayweather wanted it; Pacquiao did not). Since then Arum and Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer have engaged in a bitter war of words that has threatened to freeze the sport.
It's not just about blood testing anymore. However, it certainly remains as a central issue. Arum says he will not negotiate it at all in any future talks and Schaefer insists that Mayweather will not agree to any fight without it, but there will be others.
The crash and burn of Pacquiao-Clottey and the probable success of Mayweather's upcoming fight with Shane Mosley means Mayweather, should he get past Mosley, won't be quick to accept a 50-50 split.
Pacquiao's camp has long insisted it won't settle for a dime less than that, not when Pacquiao can collect $12.5 million checks (his guarantee for the Clottey fight) for fighting fringe contenders.
Where does that leave the world's best?
Sinking in a puddle of mediocrity.
As Arum paraded the disgraced welterweight Margarito around like a returning hero, instead of the lowly criminal he is for attempting to cheat against Shane Mosley (and probably succeeding against Miguel Cotto). Speculation was rampant that Arum was building towards a Pacquiao-Margarito fight later this year.
Is it a decent fight? Sure. Is it the fight boxing needs? Not even close.