MANILA, Philippines – A strong performance by World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao against challenger Joshua Clottey on Saturday (Sunday in Manila) will put him in a better negotiating position against Floyd Mayweather, a boxing analyst said Friday.

But this is if Pacquiao still wants a multi-million dollar super fight with the former pound-for-pound king, said veteran boxing analyst Ronnie Nathanielsz in an interview over dzMM.

“If I know Manny as I think I know him, he will try to put on a spectacular show. [So that] when they negotiate with Mayweather, they will have the upper hand,” he said.

However, Nathanielsz said Pacquiao won't have an easy time against Clottey, who is a full-blown welterweight boxer.

“[Conditioning coach Alex] Ariza said Clottey is a very dangerous opponent,” he said.

Nathanielsz said that if Pacquiao plays his cards right, he can win the match in the middle to latter rounds just as coach Freddie Roach predicted.

Somewhere in 6, 7, 8...

“Somewhere there, (Rounds 6, 7, 8)… but you know, ugali ni Manny Pacquiao, entertainer siya, eh. Palagi niyang concern is ‘I want to make the people happy’,” said the analyst.

Sports analyst Joaquin Henson shared Nathanielsz’s view about Clottey.

“The consensus is it won’t be easy disposing of the Ghanaian challenger,” said Henson in his analysis published in The Philippine Star on Friday.

He said that among the things Pacquiao should watch out for is Clottey’s unpredictability, aside from the Ghanaian’s ability to handle southpaws.

And of course, there’s Clottey’s size.

“Clottey’s size may make it a little difficult for Pacquiao to find angles for his punches and he’ll surely use his body mass to tire out the Filipino by leaning on him. The downside is because of his huge frame, Clottey is not as mobile as Pacquiao, making him an easy target,” Henson said.