“He’s dangerous and he’s strong. He’s a durable guy,” said Roach of Clottey, who challenges the Filipino megastar for his WBO welterweight crown on March 13 at the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Roach said Clottey likes to come forward but sometimes stays on the ropes as much as he did in his 12-round loss to Miguel Cotto last year. And it’s where the 33-year-old challenger from Ghana gets in trouble.
“I figured it out that he’s getting lazy or resting because he sometimes punches himself out. But if he goes to the ropes and puts up that type of defense against us, we’re gonna kill him,” Roach told fightfan.com.
Clottey took a first-round knockdown against Cotto but survives all of 12 rounds. It was a gallant fight from both fighters althouth many believe that it could have really gone either way.
Roach acknowledged that Clottey has never been knocked out in his career, winning 35 fights and losing three controversial ones. But there’s always a first time, and if he doesn’t get lucky, he will get it.
Roach had said a few weeks ago that they’re going for a knockout, but in his very recent interview with fightfan.com he said he’s now looking at a decision. It’s the first time in a while that he’s said that.
“He’s never been stopped. So, if a knockout comes it will be a bonus. I’m not looking at a knockout. I’m looking at a 12-round decision right now,” said Roach, so impressed with Pacquiao’s training that he has ordered the number of sparring rounds slashed.
Pacquiao had done close to 150 rounds of sparring for his previous fights, but Roach said a hundred or just a little over than that should be enough to carry him past Clottey.
Pacquiao has four weeks left to train and by the time he leaves his base in Los Angeles for Texas on March 8 he should he ready to take on anyone.
“He’s punching very f____g hard. I wear the body suit but it doesn’t help much he’s killing me,” said Roach, who also warned Clottey of the type of body punches he could take from the 31-year-old champion.
“He has a good chin and so forth but no one has tested his body as we will,” he said.
Source: Abac Cordero | Philstar.com
No comments:
Post a Comment