Pacquiao already had a gargantuan payday in his sights when a little squabble over needles crashed the party. The top pound-for-pound fighter eventually moved on and is slated to fight Clottey at the brand-new Cowboys Stadium in Texas.
Sadly, no matter how good this fight might be, no one cares. All thoughts are still on a potential showdown between Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr.
We caught up with HBO Sports president Ross Greenburg a few weeks ago. Greenburg was in Boston promoting a Larry Bird and Magic Johnson documentary, but he was more than happy to chat a little boxing and didn’t shy away from expressing his disappointment that the superfight never came together.
"Again, we find ourselves in the scenario where we have to have a little bit of luck and both those fighters have to win," said Greenburg, who’s been at HBO since 1978.
This past winter, he was front and center for the collapse of what could have been the biggest fight in boxing. It was a present the television veteran wasn’t expecting.
"It ruined my Christmas vacation, to be honest with you." Greenburg said. "I was on the phone probably four or five hours a day trying to make it happen.
"The fact is that one camp, Pacquiao, wanted 24 days of blood [testing] before the fight, and the other camp wanted 14, and they could never come to a resolution."
Greenburg, like most fight fans, knows HBO’s upcoming boxing schedule isn’t quite as good as it could have been.
"We do have two competitive fights, Pacquiao-Clottey and Mayweather-Shane Mosley, coming up … but now we’re running the risk that one of them gets beat, and that becomes very tricky." Greenburg admitted.
The thought of one of the two headliners being dealt a loss is not completely implausible. Clottey is a big sturdy guy who won’t back down from Pacquiao, and Mosley is a fast, powerful veteran who definitely has the tools to test Mayweather on May 1.
Of course, with every con, there is a pro. Clottey, although sturdy, also is somewhat basic, and as good as Mosley is, he’s also 38 and hasn’t fought since beating Antonio Margarito in January 2009.
So as Greenburg stated, these fights are "competitive," but don’t quite live up to the expectation we had built up in our collective heads.
"It’s like Roger Goodell saying we’ll have championship games, but we’ll forgo the Super Bowl," Greenburg explained.
Greenburg has a vested interest in a possible Pacquiao-Mayweather showdown, and the president of HBO Sports remains hopeful that we will see a bout for the ages.
"Pacquiao and Mayweather need to fight at some point," said Greenburg. "… I know the two fighters, I know they want to fight, and someday, they will."
The question is: Will the fervor be the same when they finally meet? I suppose that all depends on the other two guys.
"Shane Mosley sure as heck thinks on May 1 he’s gonna beat Mayweather," Greenburg added. "Joshua Clottey probably thinks he’ll beat Pacquiao, and he’ll have a huge moment against the winner of Mayweather-Mosley. Now, it’s up to the fighters.”
I will be watching the Pacquiao-Clottey fight, and I will be enjoying it. But we all know it’s a backup plan. I have great respect for Joshua Clottey, and Pacquiao always puts on a good show, but this fight is not going to push boxing forward.
A showdown between the two biggest fighters in the world would help bring a hurting sport back to the mainstream. Greenburg feels quite strongly about what needs to be done.
"We have to find a way as a group, managers, promoters, the fighters themselves, to make that deal happen," Greenburg concluded. "It’s just a must for boxing fans, and the sport itself."
Admittedly, Mayweather-Mosley is a fight I have wanted to see for years, and I am glad that it finally came together, but until Pacquio-Mayweather happens, the pound-for-pound showdown will always be the elephant in the room.
Pacquiao-Clottey prediction
Manny Pacquiao has seemed like the Incredible Hulk lately, but I see that coming to an end on Saturday night. Pacquiao will be more like the flash against Joshua Clottey. That is to say, I don’t think Pacquiao will continue his streak of manhandling and knocking out opponents.
Clottey is a solid fighter with very good skills and a concrete chin, but he also is on a different level than Pacquiao, who is now in the conversation as one of the all-time great fighters. Clottey will always be considered a very tough fighter who beat some great guys. However, he always seems to fall short when he steps up in competition. He hurt his hands against Margarito and just stopped fighting against Miguel Cotto. This time, Clottey will fall short against the reigning pound-for-pound champion.
Pacquiao will use his speed and different angles to keep Clottey off balance on his way to a wide unanimous decision victory.
