Joshua Clottey Enters The Pacquiao Picture

The saga of who pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao will now face in his next bout instead of super-fight opponent Floyd Mayweather Junior is ongoing, and, according to the latest news that is circulating the web, former IBF welterweight Joshua Clottey is the latest fighter to be suggested as a possible foe for "Pac-Man" in March.

As much as we are all upset the mega-fight the whole world wanted to see is not now happening (at least not on its originally planned date of March 13th 2010), a Pacquiao-Clottey fight is at least a good solid match-up - certainly a lot more intriguing than the other match-ups that have been put forth for Manny (no disrespect to either Yuri Foreman or Paulie Malignaggi).. Indeed, the teak-tough Clottey, who has never been stopped and is huge for the weight, could possibly test the Filipino dynamo in a very big way.

According to a statement put out on Top Rank's Face Book page, it will definitely be Mayweather Vs. Clottey on March 13th.

"Top Rank is pleased to announce that Manny Pacquiao will defend his World Boxing Organisation welterweight championship title in a bout with Joshua Clottey, Saturday, March 13th 2010! It's on!"

Of course, this is no official announcement of the fight, but it's the closest we've had to an official announcement thus far. Certainly, 32-year-old Clottey, last seen pushing recent Pacquiao victim Miguel Cotto to the limit in losing a close decision in June of last year, will be hoping he gets the big opportunity. And, as angry as you may be about Pacquiao-Mayweather not happening, you have to admit a Clottey challenge of the southpaw legend is a pretty good fight.

More interesting than seeing Pacquiao getting the chance to earn an eighth "world" title against Yuri Foreman, seeing "Pac-Man" getting the chance to become the first man to stop the man from Ghana (now New York) will appeal to the fans. But is this being disrespectful to "The Grand Master?" Never mind whether or not Pacquiao can stop Clottey; can he beat him? Unless he forces the 35-3(20) warrior to come in at a catch-weight, as he did when he fought Cotto, Pacquiao will be meeting his biggest, strongest and arguably toughest 147-pounder yet.

Wouldn't it be something if Clottey, who reportedly walks around well above the middleweight limit, managed to cause the upset and shock Pacquiao! I'm not saying this will be the case if the fight actually goes ahead, but one things is sure (barring a weight-reducing order placed on Clottey) Joshua Clottey will push Pacquiao harder than either Foreman or Malignaggi would have done.

Indeed, a KO win for Pacquiao would add further to his already incredible reputation; far more than his winning an eighth title would.