ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Fighting on the star, Manny Pacquiao showed once again why he is the star.
With the biggest fight crowd in the U.S. in 17 years cheering him on at Cowboys Stadium, Pacquiao dominated a strangely passive Joshua Clottey from the opening bell Saturday night to retain his welterweight title and cement his status as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.
The fight wasn't close, and it was never in doubt. It was so one-sided that those in the cheap seats among the crowd of 50,994 could tell without even looking at the giant video screens over the ring that Pacquiao was in total command.
One ringside judge gave Pacquiao every round, while the two others gave him all but one. The Associated Press scored it a shutout for the Filipino sensation.
It wasn't as flashy as his knockout of Ricky Hatton or as savage as the beating he gave Oscar De La Hoya, but there was no doubt Pacquiao was in command the entire way against a fighter who kept his gloves up high in front of his face and chose to engage him only in spurts. Clottey's strategy worked to keep him upright, but he was never competitive in the biggest fight of his career.
"He's a very tough opponent," Pacquiao said. "He was looking for a big shot."
Pacquiao was supposed to have been fighting Floyd Mayweather Jr. instead of Clottey, but the megafight fell apart over a dispute over blood testing. He took out any frustrations over losing the biggest fight of his career by beating up Clottey on the biggest stage of his career.
"I want that fight, the world wants that fight, but it's up to him," Pacquiao said.
The tone of the fight was set early, with Pacquiao advancing against his taller opponent and throwing punches with both hands from all angles. It was the same style that gave him spectacular wins in his last three fights and, though Clottey was clearly the bigger fighter, he fought back only sparingly.
Clottey seemed content to hold his hands in a peek-a-boo style through much of the early rounds, trying to pick off Pacquiao's punches and perhaps rally late. But he gave away round after round, despite landing some clean punches on the rare occasions when he would throw a combination.
"Everything's working now," trainer Freddie Roach told Pacquiao after the third round. "It's easy."
