by James Slater – Middleweight king Kelly Pavlik isn’t the only fighter to have had a quite lousy 2009. Though this year hasn’t treated him as badly as it’s treated Pavlik, 2009 has been a year in which former IBF welterweight champ Joshua Clottey’s fortunes have been decidedly mixed. The tough warrior from Ghana lost out on a big-money clash with “Sugar” Shane Mosley, he also saw a couple of other potential fights disappear and he’s been forced to remain idle as a result.
Inactive since his very close points loss to Miguel Cotto in June (a fight some fans felt Clottey could have been awarded had his luck been slightly better), the 32-year-old has had just the one fight this year. Frustrated at the way he feels he is being and has been avoided, Clottey, 35-3(20) is angry at the way a good number of what should be the most productive months of his career are being wasted.. This year has been a letdown for him in terms of getting the big fights (Cotto aside), and last year wasn’t much better; with “The Grand Master” having just two bouts.
Hopefully, the hardworking fighter will get some breaks in 2010. Kicking the year off for the man who will turn 33 in March – according to BoxRec, anyway – will be a keep-busy fight with little-known Mexican slugger Michel Rosales on January 16th. According to the web site, Clottey will face the 26-year-old with the 25-3(21) record at The Hard Rock Cafe in Las Vegas. A decent fighter, who has been in with some good names, such as Jesus Soto Karass, Mike Alvarado and Saul Alvarez (being stopped by all three) Rosales has boxed most of his career in his homeland.
The 26-year-old has fought in the U.S before, however, and his last fight took place in America – a close points win over the 16-1 Mark Jason Melligen back in November of this year. The Clottey fight will give the Mexican who can hit quite hard (all but four of his wins coming inside the distance) a chance to elevate himself into a bigger league. This will provide Rosales with all the motivation he needs, but how will Clottey get himself up for the fight?
Perhaps the former champ will take out some of his frustration on his young opponent, or maybe, as we have seen in the past many times, Clottey will take the fight lightly and struggle as a result. With all due respect, Clottey is many notches higher in class than Rosales and he knows it. Having been in with top names like Zab Judah, Antonio Margarito and Cotto, the hard man who lives in New York will feel no reason at all to get nervous ahead of this upcoming fight. But will he win the fight with ease?
In all probability, Clottey will take care of Rosales pretty much as he pleases and stop him some time in the second half of the bout. Unless we see one of the earliest upsets 2010 is sure to provide us with, Clottey will get himself a good rust-remover of a fight, as he continues hoping to land another fight of the magnitude he deserves.