A dominant display from Manny Pacquiao saw him retain his WBO welterweight title with a lop-sided points win over Joshua Clottey.
WBO champion secures comprehensive points victory
A dominant display from Manny Pacquiao saw him retain his WBO welterweight title with comprehensive points victory over Joshua Clottey.
Although Pacquiao was unable to become the first man to stop the Ghanaian, he was simply too slick throughout to be awarded the fight by scores of 120-108 and 119-109 twice.
The reigning P4P king was the aggressor from the first bell, with Clottey happy to work behind a 'peak-a-boo' defence.
Pac-Man, though, was still able to land several shots to the body while a heavy jab rocked Clottey in the opening round.
The challenger began to grow in confidence in second round, while he was able to catch Pacquiao on the way in - including a one superb uppercut.
Struggle
However Pacquiao continued to throw the cleaner shots and by the fourth round he had forced Clottey back on to the defensive.
And despite words of encouragement from his corner to the contrary, Clottey was clearly beginning to struggle as the number of heavy shots took their toll.
Pacquiao was able to fire off a number of combinations, with little coming back from Clottey.
And by the ninth and 10th rounds, Clottey was just holding on for survival - with Pacquiao launching an all-out assault, however he couldn't find the punch to stop the fight.
Clottey managed to land two big uppercuts in the 11th to shock Pacman, but it was the champion who finished the round on top.
And Pacquiao kept alive hopes of a mega-money showdown with Floyd Mayweather as he rounded off a dominant display with more telling blows in the 12th.
"Clottey is not an easy opponent he is very strong," Pacquiao said. "He took a lot of punches and was never hurt.
"He's a very good defensive fighter. I was looking for a strategy to beat that defence, like body shots, uppercuts. It worked."
The Filipino's trainer Freddy Roach was upset by Clottey's negative display.
"World title fights come once in a lifetime. If you don't have the balls to take it, and you just want to survive...well," Roach said.
"Why not go for it and put it all on the line? I'm frustrated that he didn't try to win the fight."
Pacquiao predictably called out Floyd Mayweather Jnr, who apparently refuses to take the fight unless Pacquiao meets a stringent drug testing regime.
"I want that fight, the world wants that fight, but it's up to him," Pacquiao said. "I'm ready to fight any time."
