Pacquiao vs Clottey

[rockdawg21]

Pac just liked seeing the hot blondes with big hooters. In the Philippines, because everybody there has dark skin, dark eyes, and dark hair, they're extremely attracted to light skin, blond hair, and blue eyes. Makes sense as that's what you're used to seeing everyday, different scenery is attractive to many people. Their actors even bleach their skin, YUCK!

[J.B.]

I need a copy of this album.

[rockdawg21]

Good indication that Manny's star power hasn't faded amidst the controversies...half of the available tickets sold in the first 3 hours (20,000 tickets sold). Be amazing to see how many tickets actually get sold considering the stadium can house more than 100,000 people. Just wish I were still in TX, I'd buy some tickets too

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/...ame=rafael_dan

Pacquiao-Clottey tickets on fire on first day of sales

Saturday, January 23, 2010 | Print Entry

NEW YORK -- Sure, most boxing fans really, really wanted to see pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao fight Floyd Mayweather on March 13. While that fight isn't happening now because of their inability to agree on how to handle drug testing for the bout, the public seems to have accepted with open arms Pacquiao's replacement fight.

He's going to meet former welterweight titleholder Joshua Clottey on HBO PPV on March 13 in the first boxing event to be held at the new Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, outside of Dallas.

In just the first three hours of public tickets sales (preceded by three days of limited pre-sales) on Saturday, more than 20,000 of the approximately 40,000 available were gobbled up. They ranged in price from $50 to $700.

"Ross Greenburg and I are very gratified that the public has responded like they have, and we are happy for our partner (Cowboys owner) Jerry Jones," Top Rank promoter Bob Arum told me on Saturday night at the Madison Square Garden Theater.

Arum and Greenburg, the president of HBO Sports, were sitting together shortly before the telecast of Top Rank's doubleheader, featuring featherweight title bouts pitting Steven Luevano and Juan Manuel Lopez and Yuriorkis Gamboa and Rogers Mtagwa.

Arum said if the demand for the fight continues the capacity of the stadium, which is 100,000 or so for Cowboys games, can easily be increased.

"It's going to be quite a night," Arum said. "And Jerry isn't just a one-event guy. If he sees this as a success you can be sure he'll do more boxing in that great stadium."

Also Saturday night, junior middleweight titlist Yuri Foreman and former welterweight titlist Miguel Cotto were in the house. Arum, who promotes both, was talking with both sides trying to finalize a June 12 fight between them, which he is planning for in the Madison Square Garden main arena.

[J.B.]

I don't think anybody ever really doubted that this would sell a lot of tickets, even with the controversy. In fact, in a weird way the whole controversy probably did give him a lot more exposure. Even if some of it is negative, that's not always a bad thing.

Still, Boxing is huge in Texas, and the idea of putting on a big time fight in the new Cowboys stadium is really appealing. Manny also has a lot of Mexican fans and haters too, and that always helps when selling a fight in Texas. Plus I'm sure you got a nice chunk of people from the Philippines flying in too.

I'm pretty sure this will do well in both ticket sales and PPV numbers, but only time will tell.

[rockdawg21]

I think it's great they are trying out a monstrous arena for a big fight rather than the smaller ones in Vegas. Don King was a visionary and always held colossal events (Rumble in the Jungle, Thrilla in Manila, etc.), hopefully this will start rolling the ball back into that direction with boxing's new resurgence.

Texas has the 3rd highest populations of Filipinos in the U.S. so they will be showing up in droves, plus, like you said, there are TONS of Mexican fans, and haters, of Pacquiao that will boost ticket sales.

It'll be interesting to see what comes of this.

The thing I dislike the most so far is that Clottey's trainers have been denied Visa's. Of course, most casual fans probably don't realize it, but it certainly tips the scale more in favor of Pac. I want both fighters at their best in this fight and without the training, it takes away some luster in my eyes:

http://www.examiner.com/x-4514-Houst...ied-for-Dallas

No U.S. visa: Clottey coaches denied for Dallas
January 23, 10:14 AM - Houston Boxing Examiner - Marv Dumon

Pacquiao vs. Clottey


No visa for Clottey coach

Two trainers for Manny Pacquiao's upcoming opponent, Ghana's Joshua Clottey, have been denied visas by the U.S. State Department. Godwin Dzanie Kotey and Daniel Clottey, key members of Team Clottey, may have trouble joining their fighter in Dallas for their March 13th date at the Dallas Cowboys stadium, according to East Side Boxing.

Kotey and Clottey serve as coach and assistant for the 35-3 welterweight. US authorities in Ghana are balking at visa approval for both trainers after their visas expired in fall 2009.

Team Clottey's visa situation underscores the importance of early administrative planning for non-U.S. boxers, especially given the nation's heightened security measures. Various U.S. agencies elevated their risk-related protocols following the attempted bombing of a U.S. airliner in December 2009. Visa applications can undergo a lengthy bureaucratic, and often whimsical, process.

In 2009, Manny Pacquiao was forced to train in the Philippines for his fight against Miguel Cotto due to a lack of planning by his advisors regarding U.S. tax rules and stay requirements. Millions of dollars in additional tax liabilities would have been imposed had the Filipino fighter overstayed in the U.S.

The visa situation will cost welterweight Joshua Clottey a few days of precious training. He is returning to his native Ghana over the weekend in the hopes of securing approval from local officials. A fighter's job is in the ring. Not in solving administrative tasks.

[J.B.]

I am down with the idea of using stadiums for big events, and they have still been doing it from time to time. I know they have had some big fights here at Chase Field in Phoenix where the Diamondbacks play. Obviously it's not the Cowboys Stadium, but it's still much bigger than the MGM Grand in Vegas.

However, we also need to be realistic. What Bob Arum is basically doing is the "2010 Manny Pacquiao Tour". He already said he wants to take him to a few different places in the states this year, and he knows with Manny's popularity and the hype from this would-be mega fight he can sell the idea to bigger venues. Not all the bigger cards in boxing would be suited for those type of venues. Even if they get 40,000 people to buy tickets, they are going to have to set it up in a pretty unique way so that the place does not seem like it's over half empty to all the people watching at home.

[rockdawg21]

This is bull****, I'm seriously considering writing my Senators about this. It's a f'ing boxing match, not a terrorist operation. Why the **** are they denying a Visa to Clottey's trainers? So stupid...

Clottey cries as embassy denies visa of trainers
By Abac Cordero (The Philippine Star) Updated January 31, 2010 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines - Manny Pacquiao was beating up his sparring partner in Los Angeles the other day and Josh Clottey was home in Ghana begging US embassy officials to grant visas to his trainers so they could join him in the US as he trains for the big fight on March 13.

Pacquiao, based on reports, beat up light-middleweight Byran Brooks in four rounds of sparring at the Wild Card Gym. But if it’s the same Bryan Brooks, the one and only boxer that goes by that name in www.boxrec.com, then there’s no reason to be happy.

Records show that Brooks is a native of California, who’s turning 40 in September. Yes, he’s a light-middleweight, but one who has lost all his six fights. He hasn’t fought in four years and should consider himself lucky to get out of the famous Hollywood gym alive.

Pacquiao’s sparring should pick up next week with the arrival of the other sparring partners. It should be welcome news if Shawn Bradley, who helped the Filipino icon prepare for Miguel Cotto last November, or Amir Khan would come in and take the lead roles.

Meanwhile, Clottey, who will challenge Pacquiao for the WBO welterweight crown at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, wept as he faced the press in Ghana, saying he couldn’t understand why his trainers, led by Godwin Dzanie Kotey, are being denied US visas.

“I am very very disappointed. I am so disappointed because this is the reason why I came down to Ghana and the money I spent to buy plane ticket and time wasted have been useless. It is so disappointing and I don’t even know what to say,” he told the Ghana Web.

“It’s like Ghana is not regarded because everybody in the world knows that this fight is coming on. I am very disappointed,” said the pride of Ghana, who came home after signing the fight contract in New York, and has been working out with Kotey at the Attoh Quarshie Gym.

Since Kotey and probably an assistant will be “working” in the US while Clottey trains, they are being required to secure P-1 visa (a working visa). The problem, however, is that it’s not easy, and the soonest they could get them is two months from now.

The fight should be over by then.

The National Sports Council and Sports Ministry of Ghana has already stepped into the picture, but US embassy officials wouldn’t budge.

“Alloway is the coach I know, he can speak my language to me and make me understand things better. I am disappointed in the US embassy because now I have to go and do this difficult job with people I don’t know. Now everything is on only me, I have to do it all on my own so I have to be at my best,” Clottey said.

“I am in good shape and I am enjoying myself in training and I must say I am very ready for the fight even if its today. But I need my coach there with me, I need him,” he told Ghana Web.

[J.B.]

Clottey should have known how the process works considering the fact that he lives in Brooklyn. I mean, obviously they have had to do this before, so you would think they knew what to expect. However, this fight did come on such short notice that maybe they didn't realize it would be an issue.

[rockdawg21]

True, but it's still crap. If Pac beats him, it'll be another excuse made by the haters. At least, I'd have to give this one some bit of credibility; the guy needs his trainers to be at his best. Maybe Floyd Sr. should go train him

[J.B.]

I agree it is crap, but that's how it goes.

Either way, I wouldn't worry about Pac-haters using that as ammo because honestly they are few and far between. I spend quite a bit of time on other Boxing websites and forums and even amongst the hardcore Mayweather fans, there are not many people who HATE Manny. It's more of a clash of egos between two fan-bases, and frankly it's mostly all bulls**t. When you actually bring facts and logic to the discussion, haters are typically silenced. As I have always said, it's fine for a person not to be a fan of somebody be it Floyd or Manny, or whoever, but don't blatantly disregard the facts or spin the truth to blindly fuel your disdain for that person.