CLOTTEY TO GO FOR BROKE EARLY
By Joaquin Henson
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 14 Mar 2010
DALLAS -- Don’t expect a slow start from Joshua Clottey when he takes on Manny Pacquiao in their 12-round duel for the WBO welterweight title at the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, about 30 kilometers away from this Texas city, this morning (Manila time).
Clottey’s trainer Lenny de Jesus said the other day the plan is to go for a knockout in the first six rounds and he’s confident the Ghanaian will get the job done.
“We’ll start strong,” said De Jesus. “We’ll pressure Manny from the start. We don’t want it to go the distance because Manny will probably win the decision -- after all, he sells the tickets, not Joshua.”
If Clottey fails to put Pacquiao down in the first six rounds, De Jesus said he’ll go to Plan B but didn’t explain what’s in the agenda.
“We respect Manny a lot,” said the 64-year-old De Jesus, an experienced cutman who was thrust in the chief second’s role when Clottey’s original pick Godwin Kotey failed to obtain a US visa from Accra. “Manny’s my idol. I worked five fights with him, one in Manila. I don’t need to reveal any of his secrets to Joshua. My kid’s ready. He’ll fight his fight and we’re going to surprise the world.”
De Jesus insisted that Pacquiao is in for a hard night.
“This is a dangerous fight for Manny and Bob (Arum) knows it,” said De Jesus. “That’s why there’s a return bout clause in the contract. Joshua’s bigger and stronger than Manny. That will make the difference.”
De Jesus, who has worked the corners of several former world champions, including legends Wilfred Benitez, Hector Camacho, Roberto Duran and Wilfredo Gomez, said Clottey is in tip-top shape.
“Joshua never had a problem making weight,” said De Jesus. “We arrived in Dallas last Sunday. Two days before the weigh-in last Friday, Joshua weighed 147 1/2. I’ve got him where I want him. We had a great camp. We brought in four sparring partners and Joshua just played with them. All of them were lefties, including Damian Frias and Gato Gonzalez. He did 90 rounds of sparring. I think that’s more than enough to prepare for Manny without burning out.”
De Jesus will be joined by Gjin Gjini, Kwaku Gyamfi and Bismark Bruce in Clottey’s corner for the fight. Gjini is the Albanian migrant who owns John’s Gym in south Bronx where Clottey trains and De Jesus conducts his workouts. Gyamfi is Clottey’s cook while Bruce works his mitts----they’re both Ghanaians.
“We’ve got a real solid team,” said De Jesus, jokingly calling Gyami alligator and Bruce rhino. “Manny’s in for trouble.”
Gjini said his gym has so far produced two world champions -- IBF bantamweight titlist Joseph Agbeko and Clottey who won the vacant IBF welterweight crown on a technical decision over Zab Judah two years ago.
“That’s not a bad record, two world champions in the last two years,” said Gjini. “Now, we want to beat Manny. We’re shooting to conquer the world.”
De Jesus said he means no disrespect for Pacquiao. “I’ve got a job to do and I’m a professional,” said the Puerto Rican native. "Our goal is to score an early knockout. That's what Joshua is prepared to do."
Last night, De Jesus had a big laugh when TV boxing analyst and fight judge Harold Lederman gave him the latest “gadget” to treat swelling during a fight. The gadget turned out to be a frozen slab of meat.
“That’s better than enswell,” said Lederman, chuckling as he referred to the ice-cold iron plate that cutmen use to fight swelling. De Jesus said, “Yeah, that’s perfect unless you eat it.”
De Jesus, however, won’t be in a joking mood when Clottey steps into the ring for the fight of his life against Pacquiao.
Top photo: Trainer Lenny de Jesus (second from left) heads Clottey’s corner which also consists of (from left) Gjin Gjini, Kwaku Gyamfi and Bismark Bruce.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Joaquin Henson.
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