Heroes & Villains

Filipino superstar Manny Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 KOs) checked in just a shade under 146 pounds - 145 3/4 to be exact - during Friday's weigh-in while Ghana's Joshua Clottey (35-3, 21 KOs), a natural welterweight, tipped the scale at 147 pounds.

Both fighters were very friendly toward each other during the weigh-in, shaking hands more than once and playfully smiling and laughing during a face-to-face pose.

Freddie Roach, Pacquiao's much celebrated trainer, predicted Saturday's welterweight championship fight at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas - also known as Jerry Jones' Taj Mahal - wouldn't go past 10 rounds. Though Clottey has never been knocked out in his professional career, he has never faced a fighter like Pacquiao, who continues to defy physics and has managed to maintain his speed and punching power despite the added weight.

Pacquiao, a former flyweight champion, is on an incredible winning streak, knocking out his last four opponents:

-- def. Miguel Cotto, TKO Rd. 12 (Nov. 14, 2009)
-- def. Ricky Hatton, KO Rd. 2 (May 2, 2009)
-- def. Oscar De La Hoya, TKO Rd. 8 (Dec. 6, 2008)
-- def. David Diaz, TKO Rd. 9 (June 28, 2008)
-- def. Juan Manuel Marquez, SD Rd. 12 (March 15, 2008)

Clottey lost a split decision to Cotto in 2009 and his only signiture victory in his previous five fights was a technical decision over overrated Zab Judah in 2008 when Judah couldn't continue because of a bad cut. A look at Clottey's last five opponents:

-- lost to Miguel Cotto, SD Rd. 12 (June 13, 2009)
-- def. Zab Judah, TD Rd. 9 (Aug. 2, 2008)
-- def. Jose Luis Cruz, TKO Rd. 5 (April 3, 2008)
-- def. Shamone Alvarez, UD Rd. 12 (Dec. 20, 2007)
-- def. Felix Flores, UD Rd. 10 (Aug. 9, 2007)

Las Vegas oddsmakers has Clottey as a 4-to-1 underdog, making this bout more of a tune-up match for Pacquiao. About the only advantage Clottey will have when he steps into the ring with Pacquiao is his height (Pacquiao is 5-6 and Clottey is 5-8). But Pacquiao has yet to be overwhelmed by bigger and taller fighters so the height difference won't be a factor.

Of course, there is always a chance that Pacquiao could take Clottey lightly and make it more of a challenge. But considering there is a HUGE payday in his future (i.e. Floyd Mayweather Jr.), Pacquiao won't let his guard down.



Note: Heroes & Villains author Joel Huerto will do a live round-by-round scoring of the Pacquiao-Clottey fight. The pay-per-view event will start at 6 p.m. PST. For those who want to follow the live round-by-round blog, visit SportsFanLive.com/heroesvillains.