Pacquiao - Clottey

[PeteC]

Live from Manila Sunday morning at 0800 Thai time. Free on Sports 5 for True Platnium and Gold packages. Other packages 150 Baht by calling True prior to fight time. Pete

[BaaBaa.]

Looking forward to it, if only it was Pac v Mayweather though.

Probably get a torrent first thing in the morning.

[PeteC]

Well, it's 0900 and it hasn't started yet, just run-ups over and over again on Sport 5. They say it's in the USA, I read it is in Manila? Regardless, hope it starts soon. Pete

[johnnyk]

What planet are you guys on?
Its in Dallas at the new $1 billion Cowboys footbal stadium.

[PeteC]

So, so fight. Basically Clotty didn't show up and just stood there covering his face. Probably best strategy as if he hadn't, buzz saw Pacquiao would have ended it by the 5th round. Great to see talent and stamina like Pacquiao's though. Who's next? Pete

[Lung Per]

Looka here!

[PeteC]

Here's another fighter who used to be a welterweight. Now 41 and light heavy champ. What a match that would be with Pacquiao if it weren't for the weight class. Pete

[PeteC]

Hmmm, I may be wrong on that. Seems the lightest he ever fought is 150 lbs. I think welterweight max is 140? Pete

[johnnyk]

Roy Jones (in the pic) started as a middleweight (max. 160lbs). He is not LH champ (hasn't been for a long time) and is a shot fighter, KTFO in 3 of his last 5 fights. The LH title is currently vacant, most recently held by the ageless Bernard Hopkins now 45 yrs old.

Welter is max. 147lbs.
Fighters weigh in about 30-36 hours before the fight so Clottey for eg. was probably in the ring at 160 or so, putting on 10-15 lbs. At 145 PacMan was closer to his walking-around weight so he would have put on max 5lbs. by fight time. In any case PacMan was outweighed by at least 10lbs.

Used to be the weigh-in was about 8-10 hours from fight time but that has changed with the recognition that weight-drained fighters could more easily be injured.

[PeteC]

Roy Jones (in the pic) started as a middleweight (max. 160lbs). He is not LH champ (hasn't been for a long time)......

I've got to get out more, I'm living in a time warp here. Pete

[Jaime]

The LH title is currently vacant, most recently held by the ageless Bernard Hopkins now 45 yrs old.

I don't think that is right.

The last 'undisputed' (i.e. held two or more of the major belts) LH champ was Roy Jones Junior way back in the 90's. Bernard Hopkins held The Ring Magazine LH belt comparatively recently but then lost it to Calzaghe, who then also beat Roy Jones Junior and promptly retired.

All the major sanctioning bodies (as well as The Ring Magazine) have a LH champ at the moment, although the WBC also have an interim champ in Brad dawson. Just in case you don't know what that means (and I wouldn't blame you):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interim_champion

No wonder hardly anybody takes the belts seriously any more.

[johnnyk]

Jaime,
According to ringtv.com which is Ring Magazine's website, the LH title is vacant since Calzaghe retired.
I stand corrected about BH being most recent. I forgot about Super Joe (no, not you SJ! ).
Yes, there are too many belts with 2nd rate guys claiming to be champs (see Ruiz, John). And IMO too many divisions. There are 8 classic divisions, no jr. this and jr. that. I follow Ring's criterion: the champ is the guy who beat the guy who beat the guy or who won an elimination tourney if the champ retired or moved to another division.

[Jaime]

Jaime,
According to ringtv.com which is Ring Magazine's website, the LH title is vacant since Calzaghe retired.

Yeah strange that. More proof that Wikipedia is not to be trusted! I note that Wikipedia have removed Adrian Diaconou as Ring Champion today, although Ring TV only had him as 8th ranked last week anyway I should have twigged when I saw his name there anyway

To add more confusion, there is also the 'linear' champion. I think there are occasions when even the Ring magazine champs are sometimes not the linear champion.

[johnnyk]

Jaime,
According to ringtv.com which is Ring Magazine's website, the LH title is vacant since Calzaghe retired.

Yeah strange that. More proof that Wikipedia is not to be trusted! I note that Wikipedia have removed Adrian Diaconou as Ring Champion today, although Ring TV only had him as 8th ranked last week anyway I should have twigged when I saw his name there anyway

To add more confusion, there is also the 'linear' champion. I think there are occasions when even the Ring magazine champs are sometimes not the linear champion.

Who did Diaconou beat? Its like tennis: the gap between the top 2 and the rest is as great as between #3 or 4 and #50.
I prefer 'linear' champion and tend to trust Ring more than others though. Pacquiao is the current Jr. Welter champ having dispatched Hitme Fatton but Ring is asking him if he will fight again at 140 (unlikely) so the title can be cleared up. One outfit has Amir Khan as 140lb. champ. No way is he in the same class as the linear 140lb man, Pacquiao.

At welter Pacquiao has one belt, Mosely is the linear guy who beat Margarito and there's some other guy from Ukraine and another from Slovenia that nobody has ever heard of and who have beaten nobody.
I feel Mosely is the real champ at 147 now because he beat Margarito (Mayweather ducked Margarito despite being offered $8 million a few yrs ago. He also ducked Cotto when Cotto was prime.)

Here's a link for b'ground on the welter progression showing the mess since 2000.
http://www.eastsideboxing.com/news.php?p=18491&more=1

Good to meet someone else, Jaime, who enjoys "the red light district of sport" (A.J. Leibling).