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WASHINGTON, DC, United States - Watching the Pacquiao-Clottey boxing match was boringly painful. Not only did Joshua Clottey come to the ring unprepared, but he did not put himself in the match or bout at all. If I were Ghanian, I wouldn’t be proud. Specifically, if I were from Accra, Ghana, my head would hang low. Thankfully, I was from the other Accra.
I initially thought of spending the evening watching the Pacquiao-Clottey fight at a local sports bar where patrons, mostly Caucasians, would be screaming and supporting Manny “the Pac-man” Pacquiao. But due to the overwhelming number of patrons and the excessively smoke-filled taverns, I decided to watch it via HBO pay-per-view.
I paid $49.95 plus tax. It wasn’t worth it. Well, Pacquiao is an awesome thinking and grinding machine to watch. But Clottey? Was he ever in the fight? It was like Pacquiao hammering out his golden, steely fists against an almost stationary boxer-cum-punching bag. Clottey covered up all 12 rounds, he hardly unleashed anything, and if he did it didn’t bother Pacquiao at all. I remember paying the same amount for the Pacquiao-Hatton fight, that overconfident British boxer who was knocked down very early. I kind of thought I got cheated out of what I paid then.
Imagine my and anybody’s consternation with spending that much and not getting the money’s worth. It’s like watching an overhyped movie which does not live up to expectation. Clottey was a poor substitute for Floyd Mayweather. Clottey was amateurish, boring, all-coiled-up opponent who was never really a threat at all. He entered the fight not to win or score a knockdown but simply to gain his share of the purse and not get knocked out himself.
Pacquiao was frustrated many times. Who wouldn’t be. It’s like over prepping for an interview and here comes a highly disinterested office newbie who didn’t know what to ask and was just there for show. Or studying for an important academic, legal or political discussion only to find out the other party’s unprepared or, worse, didn’t show up. Clottey didn’t show up.
Certainly, it’s very much of a delight to see Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines victorious. It still bothers me though that he’s actually seeking a Congressional career. He’s only 31 with a lot more years of boxing glory and here he is actively courting people’s vote. He may not know it but he’s digging himself into a political fox hole or a snake pit where compromises and looking the other way are the norm. But he’s still Manny Pacquiao, the greatest pound for pound boxer.
Lessons To Be Learn from Clottey
Joshua Clottey, quite interestingly, taught us some valuable lessons. But these lessons aren’t the ones you teach kids to inspire and encourage them. Rather, these lessons are those you tell friends and the younger generation not to do or the things to avoid.
1. Don’t Come Unprepared. With the advent of technology, there are so many ways to gain access to previous Pacquiao fights. Surely, eBay would carry them, perhaps even some YouTube clippings. But it seems that Clottley, the more muscular and taller of the two fighters, did not come prepared. I can’t even say he didn’t come prepared enough; he actually did not come prepared at all. He let down his fans, his Accra townsfolk, and his country.
I enjoyed the Pacquiao-Cotto fight last November a lot more. At least Miguel Cotto really fought Pacquiao toe-to-toe. He didn’t hide cowardly like Clottey. Of course, Cotto danced around and back-jogged for most of the latter rounds, but this was because he was already injured and knocked down by slugging it out with Pacquiao. Cotto showed heart even if he lost. Clottey showed nothing but cowardice and fighting scared.
Clottey did not come prepared to fight. He came prepared to get his purse money. If a person in any situation does not come prepared for something, don’t come at all. If you’re reporting for work for the first time and you’re not mentally or physically prepared, stay at home and call to explain your circumstances. Forcing the issue will only make matters worse.
2. Don’t Waste Once-in-a-Lifetime Opportunities. Clottey is an unknown fighter. He’s big, muscular and fierce-looking. He almost beat Cotto in their last meeting, with the latter just squeaking out a split decision. With the Pacquiao fight, Clottey was given an international stage that he will never ever achieve again. But he wasted it. He did not take the fight seriously.
That was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. These do not come knocking on one’s door. These kinds of opportunities are what people would kill and die for. But Clottey didn’t see it that way. From the first second of the bout, he was just there to survive Pacquiao, not to beat him.
If a person stumbles upon a once-in-a-life time opportunity – such as an exciting new job, a new business venture, an interesting investment for venture capitalists or fund managers, a potential lifetime partner, an educational scholarship, a good deal in a house or car, or a chance to work for a clean government or a very committed non-profit organization – grab it by the horns. Don’t let go of it. If you do, some other person from some other country will grab it from you, take it away, and you’ll never see it again. That’s just like Clottey: someone you’ll never see again.
3. Don’t Be Too Defensive and Open Up. Being too defensive and not opening up is shameful. In an office situation, people will react to such unfriendliness with a similar uncaring attitude. In a classroom setting, being too defensive will result to division, distrust and isolation. Opening up, even once in a while, is good.
Clottey, in the biggest boxing match of his career, covered himself up all 12 rounds, was too defensive and failed to open up. That was his downfall. I don’t think boxing promoters or other fighters will ever take him seriously. No one would trust him that he, as a professional boxer, will lure in people to buy tickets or pay-per-view. Or that he would do his best in any fight. Shameful.
4. Size and Heft Don’t Always Matter. The bullies in the classroom are usually the bigger and heftier guys. In the office, they’re usually the ones with the most power, control or years of experience. In boxing, the bigger and heftier opponent is typically the more favored one.
For centuries, the reality is that size and heft don’t always matter. These attributes are only for initial shock or intimidation. Give it sometime and all of that wears off. The truly remarkable attributes in the boxing arena, classroom or office are quality, integrity, commitment, steadiness, focus and ambition. No matter how big and muscular an opponent is, if he or she doesn’t have what it takes, then such size and heft are hollow.
5. Take Risks. Clottey did not take any risk. His trainer even said that he should let his hands go and take all risks necessary lest he lose the bout. And this was about just past the midpoint of the match. Clottey did not heed his trainer’s advice. He stuck to defensively covering up all the time and lost both the bout and his reputation.
It would have been different if Clottey’s tactic was a Rope-a-Dope style applied by Muhammad Ali against George Foreman in 1974. Foreman was a harder puncher than Ali, and the latter knew it. Ali, ever the strategist, lied on the ropes for most of the rounds, allowing Foreman to hit him at will, but also covering up well until the aggressor tired. When Foreman appeared very tired in the 8th round, Ali unleashed a series of combination that knocked Foreman down. Ali regained the heavyweight championship.
But that wasn’t the case here. Clottey did not have that kind of tactic. It was just a hands-up style defense all throughout. Simon Cowell would’ve walked out.
Clottey should have been coached better. He should have been taught that life is all about risks. No one can predict what will happen tomorrow, a month from now or five years from now. There are projections and insights to the future, but there’s no definite pattern as to what will happen. Stocks rise and fall, lawsuits are won and lost, and applications are accepted and rejected.
In that context, people should take risks especially if this means a potential to improve their station in life or prospects for the future. Not taking risks is burying money and resources in the backyard and leaving them unused for years. Taking risks means giving one’s self a chance to be in the game.
Failing to Risk is Failing to Live
Risk taking isn’t about haphazardly taking on any and all risks. That’s recklessness and ought to be frowned upon. Genuine risk taking is about calculated risks and well-studied risk management.
Failing to risk is failing to live. If you reach a difficult situation, just think of what Clottey would have done. And do the precise and literal opposite. “Clotteying” one’s self is one of the worst things to do in a lifetime. He should have learned from Warren Buffet who once said that “[i]t takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.”
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