Pacquiao vs Clottey Fight Result

Filipino ring king Manny Pacquiao said his lightning fast speed would be enough to nullify Joshua Clottey's size advantage when the two meet here in Texas on Saturday (Sunday in Manila).

"My quickness will be the key, my speed," the seven-time world champion told Reuters as he prepared for a public workout in front of a throng of fans.

However, the WBO welterweight champion is not taking his Ghanaian opponent lightly.

"You cannot underestimate Joshua Clottey," he said. "He's a good fighter, and he's bigger than me, and I have to be very focused in the fight."

'Skills win fights'

Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach acknowledged that former IBF title holder Clottey, a natural welterweight, had a size advantage over the champion, who began his career forty pounds lighter.

"But I don't think size wins fights," Roach said. "I think skill does. He may be a little stronger than Manny on the inside, he might hit a little harder, but I think our speed will nullify that."

Roach said he had been watching footage of Clottey's fights and had identified a few key habits that he and his fighter intended to exploit.

"He'll wait for you to throw a combination and then, when you've stopped, he'll throw back. So if you stand in front of him, you're an idiot," he said. "We're not going to do that. He's not going to be able to find us."

"Sometimes, he uses his head," Roach said of Clottey, 35-3 (20 KOs), whose first defeat came when he was disqualified for head butts.