Joshua Clottey

MANILA, Philippines – Joshua Clottey made a bold statement to his fellow Ghanaians, saying that he will shock the world by defeating 7-time world champion Manny Pacquiao on March 13.

“I am taking this fight not for the money but to win the title. I know it’s Pacquiao but I don’t want people thinking that Manny is super, that nobody can beat him. He is a human being like me. He has lost three times and I have also lost three times. We speak, laugh and share jokes together. I promise that I will dethrone him,” Clottey said in a press conference in Accra, Ghana as quoted by GhanaWeb.com. 

Clottey, a former International Boxing Federation (IBF) welterweight champion, continued: “He is beatable and as such I will put up my very best fight ever in my career to ensure that I beat him.”

Clottey (35-3, with 20 knockouts) promised to make his country proud by scoring a win against Pacquiao.

“I will ensure that Ghana's flag is raised very high in the USA by accounting for the Filipino,” he said. 

The 33-year-old Ghanaian plans to wrest the World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight title from Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 KOs) when they clash at the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Easy win for Pacman?

A former trainer of Pacquiao, however, thinks that Clottey has no chance against the Filipino boxing superstar.

“I think this is a kind of an easy fight for Manny. Clottey is bigger and is physically stronger but Manny’s got everything else. He’s got the speed, he’s got the skills plus Clottey is a blocker. It's almost like if Manny goes out there and throws punches in bunches, he doesn’t have to hit him hard,” American Rick Stehely told Ronnie Nathanielsz of PhilBoxing.com.

According to Nathanielsz, Stehely handled Pacquiao when he defeated Thai Chatchai Sasakul to win his first world title, the World Boxing Council (WBC) flyweight belt, in 1998.

Manny Pacquiao

He even predicted that Pacquiao “should win a very easy twelve-round decision or possibly stop Clottey late like he did with (Miguel) Cotto.”

The Filipino boxing sensation defeated Cotto by a technical knockout in the 12th round last November at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Prior to his TKO defeat, Cotto won over Clottey via split decision at the Madison Square Garden in New York last June.

Ghana behind Clottey

Clottey, meanwhile, thanked the Ghana Boxing Authority (GBA) members for organizing the press conference.

“I am encouraged by what I am seeing and hearing today and for the first time I am thinking about the nation which will make things harder for Manny Pacquiao. The nation didn’t support us much in the past but if now they are ready to get behind us, that is the best motivation I can get. And I promise to win the title for Ghana.”

Boxing Hall of Famer Azumah Nelson also showed his support for his fellow Ghanaian.

“My fear is that Manny Pacquiao is a southpaw because they are hard to fight but Joshua has given us an assurance that he knows how to fight southpaws so I am relieved,” he said.

“I will advise Joshua to train hard but I know him and I know that he will not rest. We will be there to support him physically and mentally,” added Nelson, who is the GBA technical director.

National Sports Council of Ghana CEO Worlanyo Agrah, meantime, assured that Ghana's spirit will be with Clottey.

“The nation is with you in spirit and we pray to God to guide you unto victory. The NSC will also take over the visa issue so that Alloway can travel with Joshua,” said Agrah.

Nathanielsz wrote that the visa problem of Clottey’s assistant and trainer has been fixed already. The Ghanaian is expected to go to the United States on Friday to train in Florida. 

Pacquiao already began his training camp in Los Angeles, California. He is set to start sparring on Thursday at Roach's Wildcard Gym. – with reports from PhilBoxing.com, GhanaWeb.com and ModernGhana.com