By Ronnie Nathanielsz
There are no more superlatives to describe pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao and the $1.2 billion Dallas Cowboys stadium deep in the heart of Texas where WBO welterweight champion Pacquiao stars in “The Event” against former champion and No.1 contender Joshua Clottey of Ghana on Saturday.
Conditioning guru Alex Ariza told us in an overseas telephone conversation that he believes Freddie Roach’s prized possession will put on an amazing performance in what truly is a fantastic venue . The ring will be right on top of the star in the center of the arena with some 45,000 fight fans, many of them Filipinos from around the United States and from across the Pacific in the Philippines embracing the atmosphere just as much as they have embraced Pacquiao through the years.
Once again Solar Sports will telecast the fight in the Philippines over its own cable station as well as GMA 7 while the giant broadcast network ABS-CBN will reach out to large numbers of Filipinos in Europe, the Middle East and Australia by carrying the fight on its hugely popular global network TFC, The Filipino Channel with commentators Bill Velasco and Ed Tolentino handling the coverage.
Streets will be deserted, cinemas will be crowded and homes will ring with the excitement of families and friends in a nation mesmerized by the exploits of Pacquiao, its favorite son, who has restored international respect for the Philippines by his incredible exploits in the ring marked by rare humility and kindness that have set him apart in a sport that could sometimes be known for its brutality in the ring and its meanness outside.
Referring to Pacquiao’s smiling disposition, his laughter when speaking to the media and enjoying his practice with his band for a post-fight concert Ariza summed it all up –“ Manny is a guy who just does his thing and moves on to the next after that. He is thriving on the atmosphere. He loves it here.”
Discussing the fight itself Ariza said “I still think Clottey is very dangerous. But I think Manny will go ahead and do the same thing he did with Miguel Cotto (last November when he scored a 12th round TKO) . Kills his war and demoralize him and pick him apart by finesse.”
Ariza agreed with our own observation that Pacquiao would probably win by TKO saying “I think so too. People won’t want to see another Cotto or a fighter taking unnecessary punches and do any excess of rounds and they will stop it.” The conditioning expert agreed that Pacquiao’s quickness, his power and his movement will help him cut Clottey up and throw so many punches that the referee will have to step in and stop the fight.
The conditioning expert told us Pacquiao “looks great. His body has finally adapted to the new weight and the new size and he carries his weight perfectly well. I mean his movement, his combinations, the way he darts in-and-out, the footwork. Its all come together so well.”
Two days before the official weigh-in Pacquiao was at 151 pounds, just four pounds over the welterweight limit and Ariza expects him to come in at 150 pounds at fight time, with Clottey likely to enjoy a ten pound advantage. However, Ariza noted that at the press conference Clottey was “not very big. Not much bigger. I expected him to be a massive individual but when he and Manny stood next to each other they looked the same size to me although Clottey looked a little bit taller.”
Ariza was most pleased that Pacquiao’s troublesome left leg which did create some concern early on in training had healed completely. He said “Knock on wood I think we did a good job. No problems at all.” He said the atmosphere within Team Pacquiao was “good as everybody is working well together .”
