George Kimball has the scoop on Manny Pacquiao’s Fernando Poe Jr. homage over at The Sweet Science:

[Pacquiao drew] a stern admonition from referee Rafael Ramos when he slammed his fists against both of Clottey’s ears at once. Roach chalks that one up to, well, a case of Manny being Manny.

“He does it in a gym all the time,” said Roach. “I don’t think there’s been a guy he ever sparred with he didn’t try it on, and Steve Forbes, in this camp, was the first guy who’d even retaliated. When he talked about doing it in a fight I warned him ‘Manny, don’t even think about it, because they’ll take a point away if you do.’”

“No they won’t,” replied Pacquiao. “The first time I do it they’ll just warn me.”

In gym sparring, or in amateur bouts, the technique can be downright dangerous, since catching an opponent wearing tight-fitting headgear on both ear-holes at once could easily rupture an eardrum, “but I frankly don’t understand why it should be illegal in a professional fight,” said Roach. “I’ve asked a bunch of people and never gotten a good answer. Think about it: all you’re doing is throwing two punches at the same time. I can’t think of any rule that says you can’t do that.”

Good point. Of course, FPJ’s opponents might beg to disagree.

In my latest column for Ringside with Manny over at Yahoo!, I call Joshua Clottey a pussy, and talk about Manny Pacquiao’s prospects in the upcoming months, both in and out of the ring.

Fire Quinito rounds up all the essential links from the Manny Pacquiao-Joshua Clottey snoozefest so you could have more time to read the latest on Katrina Halili’s case against Hayden Kho.



Gabriel Montoya, Max Boxing: “Pacquiao came out as usual, all energy and aggression. He slid left and right, in and out, looking for an opening and commencing to create them with jabs to the head and the tiny opening between Clottey’s elbows, that were held up seemingly all night in a shell defense. Pacquiao marked his territory on Clottey early. A right hook around the guard to the head. Left lead or right jab to the stomach. Right hook to the body. Over and over, Pacquiao threw combinations up and down at Clottey, who could only cover up, move forward, and take abuse as he bided his time waiting for Buddha-knows-what.”

Toff Rada, Better Late than Never: “For all intents and purposes, the ‘Event’ between Manny Pacquiao and Joshua Clottey ended at the 1:37 mark of the fourth round. It was at this point when Pacquiao unleashed a two-fisted punch, reminiscent of the legendary Filipino action star Fernando Poe Jr. Years from now, after the PacMan has been enshrined in the Boxing Hall of Fame, and Clottey largely forgotten, people will remember this bout solely because of this punch. It could even evolve into boxing's version of a ‘finishing move’, something that when you see, you know the fight's over. In basketball, this would have been the equivalent of leaping over your opponent for a dunk, or grabbing the ball midway through the shot for a block.”

Michael Rosenthal, The Ring: “Manny Pacquiao can’t look spectacular against an opponent who refuses to fight. Joshua Clottey curled up like a frightened armadillo and barely threw enough punches to win a round Saturday night at the new Cowboys Stadium. The tireless Filipino was at his most active, trying to break down the bigger man, but he couldn’t do serious damage without openings.”

Greg Bishop, New York Times: “The question lingered. When would Clottey let his hands go and unleash his superior strength and size? When would he, you know, fight?”

Bryan Armen Graham, Sports Illustrated: “Make no mistake: Clottey is one of the world's elite welterweights. This wasn't Oscar De La Hoya, a faded legend who'd outgrown the 147-pound division. It wasn't Miguel Cotto, who fought Pacquiao at a catch-weight of 145. Clottey is a full-sized welterweight with significant height and reach advantages who likely outweighed Pacquiao by 15 pounds. And the tough-as-nails Ghanian couldn't even win a round (according to two of the three judges). Pacquiao's fight plan to attack the body -- he landed a career-high 108 body shots -- was executed to perfection against stubborn opposition. ‘This is the first time I have lost a fight,’ Clottey said. ‘All my fights I lost, I never thought I lost.’”

Bill Dwyre, Los Angeles Times: “Final punch stats by the Compubox people, who and probably went home with cramped fingers, had Pacquiao throwing a total of 1,271 punches, to Clottey's 399. The main consolation for the fans was that they could tell their grandchildren someday that they spent an evening in a new palace of an arena, watching a short, stumpy man trying to chop down a tree, which didn't fall.”

I enjoyed this video about a hundred times more than the Pacquiao-Clottey fight.