What if Clottey beats Pacquiao, What Then?

What are the ramifications for Manny Pacquiao if Ghanian Joshua Clottey defeats him at the Cowboy’s stadium on March 13th. Will Pacquiao’s world come tumbling down around him like Tysons did in 1990, when massive underdog James Buster Dougles knocked him out in the Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan.

What will happen with the much anticipated Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather mega-fight? A sure matchup between Tyson and Holyfield was in tatters after Iron Mike’s defeat in Tokyo. The bout did take place six years later, but Tyson’s antics outside the ring had a huge part to play. Nevertheless had Mike Tyson not been sent to Prison a Holyfield bout would have been somewhat in the distance, as he was already rebuilding his career after the Dougles defeat.

Clottey has only fought a few top tier opponents during his career, losing to two of them, Antonio Margarito and Miguel Cotto. But on occasions fighters rise above, sometimes a fighter has that one moment that defines his career. When against all the odds everything falls into place for him, what better motivation does Joshua Clottey need than sharing a ring with the hugely popular pound for pound king and staged in one of the greatest venues on the planet.

Tommy “The Duke” Morrison was all but ready for a fight with Riddick Bowe until he ran into the right hand of Michell Bentt and was blown away in the first round when the two met in Tulsa, Oklahoma, 1993.

You could be forgiven for thinking Wladimir Klitschko was on a collision course with WBC heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis, only for Mr Sanders to spoil the party knocking Wladimir out in the second round in Germany, 2003.

Zab Judah was somewhat fortunate to keep the fight with Flod Mayweather on track, considering three months earlier he lost his WBC welterweight title to Carlos Baldomir. But with the defeat the fight lost something and did not seem as important on the greater scheme of things. I have no doubt Miguel Cotto would have shared a ring with Oscar De La Hoya had he got past Antonio Margarito.

And Roy Jones Jr losing to Danny Green could have upset the applecart with a Bernard Hopkins fight on the horizon, and probably would have if it occurred five or six years ago, but this fight is all about cashing in. So was never in doubt from the fighters standpoint.

The list goes on, boxing has no script. Anything can happen anywhere, anytime and more importantly to anyone. It’s happened to the best of them and if it happens to the Pac-Man he won’t be the last.

Obviously if Clottey where to win a rematch would be imminent, and that very clause probably resides tucked away in some filing cabinet as of writing (sending a Pacquiao – Mayweather bout even further into the distance). Another opportunity to face the biggest name in boxing, and be in a position to get a bigger slice of the cake, it would be the best offer out there for the Clottey. I’m guessing he would also want to prove the first fight was no fluke either.