The game is afoot.

Before we get to the standings, I must play the heavy and remind everyone to please follow the rules. We keep getting late predictions, and next time, they won't count. I don't like to do that kind of thing, but we have to set SOME deadline, and there's a chance some new piece of information after the deadline could give you latecomers a competitive edge. Also, please review the rules once more the level of specificity required or not required for entries. That's not as big a deal, but it can cost you some bonus points if you do it the wrong way.

All right. Back to the fun parts. We began this week as we began last time: With Alexmac at the front of the pack, and stickfigure, God bless, starting in last place. Alexmac is tied for the lead with Kid Gruesome aka Scott Kraus, thanks to the new rule that gives 50 points for correctly calling a decision vs. a KO. There's an 11-way tie for second place, but that'll clear up in subsequent standing posts, I betcha.

Almost everybody got 500 points for correctly picking Manny Pacquiao over Joshua Clottey Saturday. Only one contestant went with Clottey, the very brave stickfigure. Sixteen people snagged the extra 100 points by picking Pacquiao to win via unanimous decision.

The week before, seven people went with the upset call, Juan Urango over Devon Alexander. No such luck. (Sorry, stickfigure.) The best call of the whole tourney so far? Not Sure, aka Jay Ari Yin, predicting Alexander would win by knockout in the 8th. That is, the exact round it happened. That's some Nostradamus stuff, Not Sure, and it gets you the 100 point bonus. Three other smart people -- Kid Gruesome, Team Monica aka edub and Alexmac -- thought that the iron-chinned Urango wouldn't see the final bell, good for an extra 50.

Overall, 20 people are two-for-two by going with the favorite in each fight. This week, Wladimir Klitschko-Eddie Chambers will be in play (save your prediction for my preview post later in the week). I haven't decided yet how we'll do the week after, with a big Showtime fight, an HBO double-header and a meaningful ESPN2 Friday Night Fights main event. Usually we would do standings updates after two fights, but we might do an update after Klitschko-Chambers then another the next week.

Here are the standings. There are a few people who only predicted for the Pacquiao fight, so I'm not sure they're actually playing or just wanted to leave their prediction. They'll be dropped from the standings absent a prediction this week. If you believe I miscalculated, let me know and we can adjudicate.

(Jed Jacobsohn, Getty Images, captures the fight in microcosm.)

Until Saturday night, the last time anyone had an unsatisfactory evening of boxing in an event that involved Manny Pacquiao was in October of 2007, when the Pac-Man fought Marco Antonio Barrera for the second time. The common denominator for Saturday and October '07? Barrera fought to survive, and so did Pacquiao's Saturday night opponent, Joshua Clottey. Making matters worse was one of the crappiest undercards of the last several years, with three fights that weren't meaningful but were expected at least to produce some fireworks. Didn't happen.

It was a major event on paper, though, because Pacquiao is the pound-for-pound king and he fought in a billion dollar spaceship. That means there are topics worth discussing yet, satisfied or no.

Manny Pacquiao dominated Joshua Clottey Saturday evening, but that had as much to do with Clottey's reluctance as Pacquiao's brilliance. In the welterweight showdown, Pacquiao wildly outworked Clottey, throwing more punches than ever and forcing Clottey to cover up more than ever. In the 6th round, the 39 punches Clottey threw were more than he'd thrown in any round in the fight, and those are famine-like numbers for a 147-pounder. The results? Pacquiao won by scores of 120-108 and 119-109 times two. I had it 119-109.

This fight proved mostly that Pac's work rate was higher than Clottey's. And for a scouting report about how Pacquiao might do against the winner of Floyd Mayweather-Shane Mosley in May, it was mixed. On one level, I think Mayweather's defensive style is superior to Clottey's, and Clottey isn't as good a defensive fighter or as capable of mixing offense with defense as Mayweather is. Clottey also put enough offense on Pacquiao that Mosley might have more luck being being aggressive against Pacquiao than Clottey ever could've. On another level, both of those men would open up more than the shy Clottey would, which would give Pacquiao more chances to land.

Basically, this was a boringish, one-sided fight where Clottey just spent so much time covering up it was ridiculous. The highlight of the fight may have been the mythical double-punch Pacquiao landed in the 4th round, throwing two shots around Clottey's high guard. Certainly, nobody has dominated Clottey like this, but the style had more to do with it than class. Pacquiao simply threw more and landed more as a result. Mostly he landed to the body. Clottey landed well when he landed, but his trademark cover up now/counter after made him a stick in the mud. Some of that had to do with Pacquiao's power -- Clottey's temporary trainer told HBO's Max Kellerman between rounds that he thought Clottey was being cautious because he'd felt Pacquiao's power and didn't like it. But Clottey's style was fundamentally a bad match for Pacquiao's style, which overwhelmed former. Clottey's defense was good, but his sporadic offense wasn't nearly enough.

Of course, Pacquiao vs. the winner of Mayweather-Mosley may not happen. Pacquiao's run for Congress in the Philippines begins in earnest now, and he may retire if he wins. Even if he loses that election, Mayweather and Pacquiao may disagree -- as they did before -- about drug testing. And if Mayweather-Mosley outsells Pacquiao-Clottey, which it almost certainly will, this fight gets even harder. It's sad that an anticlimatic fight will almost certainly lead to an anti-climax of the best fight in 20 years or more not happening, but it it what it is. Clottey's style was made for Pacquiao, and Pacquiao did what he was supposed to, but it might end here.

For two and a half fights of the undercard of Manny Pacquiao-Joshua Clottey, it was Zombieland in Dallas. (h/t Twitter folk for the crystallizing.) Three fights I at least hoped would be good were mostly unthrilling, sometimes actively so.

 

• I had Humberto Soto beating David Diaz nine rounds to three in their lightweight fight, with two rounds -- the 1st and 12th -- featuring knockdowns by Soto. Neither knockdown was particularly hard, but they were both legit. The judges had it closer: 117-109 times two, and 115-111 on the third. Diaz looked rusty as hell for the first third of the bout, but turned it on over the last third. In between, Soto was the one throwing straighter and defending better. Soto apparently is headed toward a fight with one of the Peterson brothers, Anthony, and it's the best fight Soto will have had in years. It's long overdue. Diaz? He seems to be moving into the "tough test for a better fighter" category.
• Welterweight Alfonso Gomez beat Jose Luis Castillo after Castillo's corner threw in the towel after the 5th. Castillo looked purely dead inside for the entire fight, and Gomez didn't look so hot either. Castillo couldn't pull the trigger, but Gomez was pulling it more. The less said the better. I hope this one last paycheck allows Castillo to stop fighting. I'd said before the fight he doesn't seem to be jeopardizing his health so much as being a shadow of his former self, but he's getting closer. Gomez just beat him to the punch and caught him with cleaner shots, battering Castillo. As for Gomez, I don't know what the idea is. He's not that good, but he's not that bad. What's he do next?
• Popular Irish middleweight John Duddy won an uninspiring 10-round split decision over unproven Michael Medina, fighting with urgency for about 20 seconds of the last round. I had it 95-94, and two judges gave it to Duddy 96-93 (the third gave it to Medina, 96-93). Duddy's defense was terrible, with him getting tagged with plenty of long and looping shots to the head and body, but he was the busier fighter and controlled more of the action. Medina was also deducted a point, fairly, for low blows in the 8th. One of the few noteworthy things about the fight was that all three Texas judges had "no notable fights" under their judging belts. Thanks, Texas. Duddy might fight Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. next in a battle of "lackluster ticketsellers who used to be in good fights but aren't anymore."

 

That a boxer's on "Good Morning America," even if it's on a Saturday, is one of many signs that despite the Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao setback, the American media is still clued into the fact that boxing can matter. Even if the buzz for Pacquiao's welterweight fight with Joshua Clottey this evening has been muted among hardcore fans and even Pacquiao devotees in the Philippines, the fight's gotten some mainstream pub -- including from The New York Times, which ran its article later than the rest but still came around, and Sportscenter this morning, which revisited Pacquiao giving autographed gloves to the Boston Celtics. GMA doesn't like Pacquiao's singing, per the segment. But I didn't know Pacquiao could do such a great Scottish accent. A man of many talents, is Manny.

But there's more going on in the boxing world than Pacquiao-Clottey, even if I wasn't able to get to it this week with the marathon coverage deal. There's the stuff in the headline, plus fights in the works for Devon Alexander, the Klitschkos, and a variety of rematches. And more.

Whether you’re looking for a basic primer or a complete run-down, I’m bringing you the links you need to get fully caught up on the big welterweight fight in Dallas between Manny Pacquiao and Joshua Clottey.

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So continues our marathon coverage of one of the biggest fights of 2010, Manny Pacquiao versus Joshua Clottey on Saturday. Previously: why and how Pacquiao-Clottey matters; how good is Clottey?; keys to the fight, parts I and II; the undercard. Next: the ultimate guide.

No use beating around the bush here. You know that scene near the beginning of "Jurassic Park," where they lower a cow into the velociraptor pit by crane, then after some infernal racket, they wheel the cow’s harness back up and there’s nothing left but ragged straps? That’s what I think Pacquiao-Clottey is kind of going to look like.

If ever a boxer was like a velociraptor -- predatory, quick, intelligence on the attack -- it’s Pacquiao (above left). But it’s not that I think Clottey (above right) is some defenseless cow, exactly. In fact, he’s very defense-ful. Defense is what he excels at most. I do think, though, with his tendency to have to plant his feet to punch and the way he covers up so passively when blocking shots will have the effect of Pacquiao making him look like he’s strapped to a harness. And I don’t think he’s going to be pretty at the end of the night.

That’ll make the rest of this anticlimatic, but I do think it’s worth considering the alternatives – the scenarios where Pacquiao has a long, difficult night or even where Clottey wins. Clottey is no schlub. He’s a very good fighter. Even in losses, he has given his opponents hell, to the point that some believe he’s been ripped off repeatedly. It’s not far-fetched that Clottey gets his licks in or even pulls off the win.

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As Tim pointed out, nobody should be too excited for the Manny Pacquiao-Joshua Clottey undercard. Considering that Manny is as much as an 8-1 favorite in the main event, perhaps it would have been a good idea for Bob Arum to showcase better fights for the large audience anticipated for the event since many expect the showcase fight to be one-sided (though others disagree).

(The Bobfather even wears suits on the toilet. Classy.)

Unfortunately for fight fans, it didn’t have to be this way. In addition to Pacquiao-Clottey, Top Rank is promoting a card on Friday night that will air on FSN. That card also takes place in Texas. Given the surprising depth of the FSN card and the lack of depth of the PPV card, I thought it might be interesting to see if the promoters could have put together a better weekend of boxing.

In short, I think they could have.

The following is my reshuffling of the fights in an attempt to make the PPV card stronger without dismissing the free television audience likely to be made of fight freaks who hunt down as much televised boxing as possible (like myself). I also tried to take into consideration the costs of various fights but I’m forced to purely guess on that end.

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So continues our marathon coverage of one of the biggest fights of 2010, Manny Pacquiao versus Joshua Clottey on Saturday. Previously: why and how Pacquiao-Clottey matters; how good is Clottey?; and keys to the fight, parts I and II. Next: the final preview and prediction.

It's gotten to the point where I'm not sure why I even dignify Top Rank undercards with their own blog entries on the weeks of big fights. At best, it's an excuse for me to verbally defecate all over how little the company -- like most promoters, for what it's worth -- could give a damn most of the time about putting on a top-to-bottom good product with its $50 pay-per-views. Were these undercard fights occurring anywhere but as the supporting bouts for such a major event, they'd warrant but a sentence or two in a round-up column. Adding insult to injury is that Top Rank boss Bob Arum constantly insists the undercards are, in fact, good, which is like the old aphorism about pissing on my leg and telling me it's raining.

So here's the capsule take on Pacquiao-Clottey undercard: It has a grand total of one fight that could headline even a small ESPN2 Friday Night Fights card, whereas if it was up to me, it'd be more like September's Floyd Mayweather-Juan Manuel Marquez undercard, where one of the fights could have headlined an HBO Boxing After Dark show. What little credit I'll give the Pacquiao-Clottey undercard is that the three major supporting fights are likely to make up for a dearth of significance with what they'll provide in the way of entertainment. I suppose that's progress.

So continues our marathon coverage of one of the biggest fights of 2010, Manny Pacquiao versus Joshua Clottey on Saturday. Previously: why and how Pacquiao-Clottey matters; how good is Clottey?; and keys to the fight, part I. Next: the undercard.

How Pacquiao (above left) and Clottey (above right) match up could be more telling than who's the overall better fighter. Today, we'll look at how they stack up physically, as well as how they stack up in the more mental aspects of boxing. First up was the physical. Now: The mental.