Clottey's big Upset
By Tom Donelson
04.06 - There are no such things as a sure thing. Muhammad
Abdullaev was on his way to victory with lopsided margins
on all the scorecards. Ghana's Emmanuel Clottey was
supposed to the next victim of Abdullaev and not considered
a risk for Abdullaev's rise to the Welterweight crown.
Clottey, who was one of Mickey Ward's training partners,
was prepared for a tough fight. In the fashion of a
Mickey Ward, Clottey strategy was simple- just keep
fighting and hope for lightening.
The fight had a strange feel to it. For a shutout,
it appeared closer. While Abdullaev was winning rounds
after rounds, each round had a rough edge to it. Abdullaev
was throwing 80- 100 punches per rounds but Clottey
was not inactive as he averaged nearly 70 punches a
round. Many of these shots hit Abdullaev's face and
body, so Abdullaev was not just running through the
tough Clottey without paying a price.
Abdullaev won the first five rounds and while the judges
had Adbullaev winning the sixth round, Clottey actually
scored the most effective punches and could have been
given the round. The fight had a pattern with Abdullaev
moving forward, throwing sledgehammer punches to the
face and body whereas Clottey countered. Abdullaev appeared
to be the stronger of the two fighters but Clottey handled
Abdullaev best shots. Abdullaev zipped powerful shots
to Clottey body but somehow, Clottey did not slow down
or wear out. Clottey told reporters, "I had good
sparring with Mickey Ward
I was so grateful to
have been able to work with him. Taking Mickey's body
shots definitely helped prepare me for this fight."
Clottey was confident that his endurance would stem
the tide but for the first nine rounds, Clottey's strategy
did not appear to be working. While he was able to avoid
many of Abdullaev's punches but more of Abdullaev punches
still penetrated Clottey's defenses. Abdullaev had plenty
in the tank at the end of the ninth round and appeared
to be fresher of the two fighters. Clottey, despite
his best effort, appeared to be on the defensive.
Then came the fateful tenth round. Abdullaev went after
Clottey with a vengeance. He was going for the kill.
Within the first thirty seconds, Clottey's knee buckled
after being nailed by an Abdullaev right. Abdullaev
moved forward as Clottey retreated. Then boomed. Clottey's
nailed Abdullaev with the perfect left hook. Abdullaev
stood straight up as yet another hook plastered him.
Abdullaev swung around in a 180-degree circle as he
proceeded into the rope. Confused and daze, he stood
straight up and his corner signaled for Abdullaev to
take a knee. Abdullaev took a knee but while staring
at referee Gasper Ortega, he watched as the referee
count him out. Whether Abdullaev was unable to comprehend
what was going around because he could not understand
the referee or he just was too dazed to know what was
going, it did not matter. He was counted out. Two judges
had the fight 89-92 and the third judge 90-81 in Abdullaev's
favor. All Abdullaev had to do was just finish the fight.
For Emmanuel Clottey, this was his moment of glory. On National Television, he produced the biggest upset of the evening. Behind on point, Clottey did not give up and even as he was being effectively shut out- Clottey continued to throw punches.
Usually in a fight with this lopsided scoring, the
loser is being beaten to a pulp but in this case, Clottey
was making each round close. He was losing the fight,
that there was no doubt. Clottey decided that he was
not going to be just an opponent or speed bump for Abdullaey's
rise. By being competitive, he gave himself a chance
to win. One punch and Abdullaev tasted the canvas for
the first time.
Abdullaey is excellent prospect and certainly this could be a learning experience. Now he must come back from defeat. As for Clottey, this was his moment of glory. By winning this fight, Clottey has now become a commodity in his own right. Clottey can command a bigger purse while fighting bigger names. A victory like this is a career enhancer for a workhorse like Clottey. Clottey's sparring partner knows this fact so well. For Mickey Ward, his fighting style and occasional big win allowed him to make a good living in the ring and he now was getting ready to step into the ring against Arturo Gatti for one last big pay day. Lightening does sometimes strike in boxing.
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