Pacquiao outpoints Clottey to keep title

Filipino Manny Pacquiao produced a dominating display to outclass Ghanaian Joshua Clottey and retain his WBO welterweight title with a unanimous points victory yesterday.

Pacquiao's speed and relentless punching proved too much for his bigger opponent, who offered little attacking threat in front of nearly 51,000 fans at Cowboys Stadium, the home of the Dallas NFL team.

"I stayed focused to create some strategy to dominate him," Pacquiao told reporters. "He's a very good defensive fighter. I was looking for a strategy to beat that defence, like body shots, uppercuts. It worked."

Clottey concentrated on keeping his hands held high in front of his face to block his opponent's non-stop attack in a lop-sided contest.

One judge awarded every round to Pacquiao with the other two giving a 119-109 verdict. The champion landed 20 per cent of the 1,231 punches he threw.

Whilst Pacquiao spoke respectfully of his opponent, the Filipino's trainer Freddy Roach was upset by Clottey's negative display.

"World title fights come once in a lifetime. If you don't have the guts to take it, and you just want to survive... well," Roach said.

"Why not go for it and put it all on the line? I'm frustrated that he didn't try to win the fight."

Following constant encouragement to attack more from his corner, Clottey did land some blows, with a left uppercut followed by a heavy left hook in the 10th round, which Pacquiao admitted rattled him.

"He's strong. Some of his punches hurt," said the champion, who regained his poise after Clottey failed to follow up. Pacquiao, considered the sport's best pound-for-pound fighter, improved his record to 51-3-2 (38 knockouts).

Clottey, who dropped to 35-4, praised his elusive opponent. "He's very, very fast. I tried to catch him up and then when I get to him, he's strong too."

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.