by James Slater – Originally, it looked as though former IBF welterweight champion Joshua Clottey would engage in a huge fight with reigning WBA 147-pound king “Sugar” Shane Mosley. But, as fans now know, HBO changed their minds on the December 26th date, and Clottey and Mosley were left to look for another opponent. The man with all the news, Dan Rafael over at ESPN.com, has revealed how Clottey’s search is over. Now set to face former WBO welterweight champ Carlos Quintana on the under-card of the upcoming December 5th clash between middleweight ruler Kelly Pavlik and Paul “The Punisher” Williams, 32-year-old Clottey could well move on to another crack at a world title if he can beat the Southpaw from Puerto Rico.
According to Rafael, the fight will take place over ten scheduled rounds and at an agreed weight of no more than 149-pounds. Who will win, Ghana’s Clottey, or one-time Paul Williams conqueror, Quintana?
A very good fight that could conceivably go either way, Clottey-Quintana will see two of the best in the world at 147 going at it.. Sure, 32-year-old Quintana was blown away by Williams in the rematch the two men fought a few months after “El Indio” had upset the lanky southpaw in February of 2008, but it’s unlikely he will be blasted out by Clottey – a wear-you-down type of operator as opposed to a one-punch KO kind of fighter.
Quintana – who was originally going to fight on the October 24th Kermit Cintron card in his home country before agreeing to fight Clottey – has had one win since being stopped in less than a round by Williams; when he hammered Joshua Onyango to defeat in less than four-rounds last October. Likely to be suffering from at least a little ring rust as a result of his recent inactivity (just three fights in almost two years), Quintana, 26-2(20) will nonetheless fancy his chances against Clottey, 35-3(20).
“The Grand Master” shouldn’t have any real problems with Quintana’s lefty stance, having beaten notable southpaws like Zab Judah in the past. Also, in coming off his extremely close June points loss to Miguel Cotto (who has a December 2006 5th-round retirement win over Quintana), Clottey will be anxious to earn himself an impressive win.
Adding further intrigue and value for money to the already hugely anticipated Pavlik-Williams showdown, the clash of former welterweight titlists should be a good fight. Don’t expect a slugfest, but expect more of a high quality boxing match that will break into a fight on occasion. Because of his greater activity level and his incredible physical strength at the weight, Clottey has to be the pick to win – most likely via competitive decision.