Month to go, Ghana Lion Joshua Clottey mauling sparmates

He's been saying nothing but nice things about Manny Pacquiao so far but, make no mistake.

Joshua Clottey is not the Pinoy Idol's kissing cousin and he did not send any Valentine's Day hearts, flowers or Godiva chocolates over to the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood.

The Bronx resident and native of Ghana is one month away (March 13) from the big bout in the Cowboys Stadium in Dallas and manager Vinny Scolpino told me Saturday that, despite rumors and reports, Team Clottey is right on schedule.

"Joshua and the team have been in Hollywood-Ft. Lauderdale for two weeks now and the camp is going very good," Scolpino said from his New Jersey home.

"Joshua's head trainer has his visa almost approved so he'll get there soon, in the meantime we've got (veteran trainer) Lenny DeJesus and the rest of the team. He's on target, he's beating the crap out of people in sparring and I would say he is definitely on his 'A game.'"

Clottey has gone on record, describing the Pacman date as his "miracle fight" and saying he will score one of the biggest upsets ever.

Perhaps Clottey learned a valuable lesson when he took his foot off the accelator in the so called "Championship Rounds" against Miguel I'm No Angel Cotto last June at Madison Square Garden.

It was a winnable fight but, after getting lethargic and backing up, fighting protectively rather than aggressively in the late rounds, Clottey came out on the short end of a split decision.

Source: www.examiner.com