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joshua clottey thinks if he beats cotto that miguel will never return to the ring
When Joshua Clottey decided to leave England and try to make a go of boxing in America, he told himself that he was going to take only five beatings in his quest to reach the top before he would give up the sport.
Clottey, who has fought his way from Ghana to England to America in the last decade, is still awaiting that first beating.
But a thought struck Clottey as he was preparing for his 12-round match against WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night on HBO's "Championship Boxing." He began to think about the beating that Cotto took at the hands of Antonio Margarito in Las Vegas last July. He believes it was bad enough to send Cotto down the road he thought he would eventually travel.
Clottey (35-2, 21 KOs) believes that if he keeps up enough pressure that Cotto will fold because of the punishment administered by Margarito.
"Yeah, I think so. I think so very, very much. I think if I go in there and beat him that he will have trouble getting back to the fight. I definitely think he won't come to fight again," Clottey said.
It was a stunning statement from a boxer who has had nothing but praise for Cotto for giving him an opportunity to fight in a mega event. Clottey said he has respect for the champ from Puerto Rico because he's not a trash talker. And he often feels empathy for boxers he likes.
"I feel something inside me when I'm hitting a guy. But you know if you don't finish the job, the job will finish you," said Clottey, 32.
Cotto (33-1, 27 KOs) has already put some distance between himself and the Margarito loss. He stopped Michael Jennings to win the WBO title at the Garden back in February.
Cotto withstood everything that Margarito threw at him, including suffering a broken nose in the second round, until the 11th round when he took a knee once and got dropped once. His corner stopped the fight. Clottey figures Cotto will be unwilling to withstand a major onslaught.
"I don't think he's going to be the same guy that is going to stand in front of me," he said. "I think he's going to run around. If he is going to do that pace, then he's going to have to stay there and do that pace. But I don't think he can do that."
Cotto, 28, said that he is long since over any physical and mental trauma that he might have suffered against Margarito. When he appeared at the offices of the Daily News on Monday to meet with the editors and writers, Cotto was so relaxed he looked like he was heading to the beach.
History is littered with those who have never been the same after suffering a severe beating but I don't think Cotto is one of those broken boxers. It might be wishful thinking on the part of Clottey that Cotto will quit if he puts enough pressure on him.
Cotto's stock in trade has been that he is the relentless one. Paulie Malignaggi said that Cotto put so much pressure on him that he had to fight the urge to quit. Malignaggi, who suffered a fractured orbital socket, said it was the first and last time that he has had that feeling in the ring.
Now Clottey is saying that he will turn the tables on Cotto. Clottey believes Cotto doesn't have anything left to prove in the game and that he has already achieved what most boxers want - acclaim and money.
Clottey is underestimating the pride that comes with being a boxer who carries the hopes of a nation into the ring with him every time he steps through the ropes. Will it be enough to carry Cotto through the fight? I think it will.
It will be a war of attrition because neither guy will relent and they both will come forward. Remember the stakes are high. The winner could get a shot at Manny Pacquiao, and a guaranteed multimillion dollar payday. Said Clottey: "I have to win. I need to win. This is the fight where I need to achieve what I want to achieve."
tsmith@nydailynews.com
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