Hours from now, Filipino boxing sensation Manny Pacquiao goes up against tough and durable Ghanian Joshua Clottey to defend his slice of the welterweight title and his exalted place in boxing’s pound for pound throne.

Pacquiao is heavily favored to win the fight although many of his former foes believe it will take more than just Manny’s speed to hand Clottey his first knockout loss.

ESPN broke down the Pacquiao-Clottey match up and saw nothing that would point to a Clottey victory except the hunger for victory.

Yes, Clottey is the hungrier fighter between the two.

After years of toiling under the shadows of the big names in the welterweight division, Clottey finally gets the biggest stage many would trade their mother-in-laws for.

Except for the size, Clottey has everything going against him.

Manny is coming off an incredible 11-fight impressive win streak against marquee fighters and is virtually locked for Hall-of-Fame honors when he retires.

In fact, a victory against Floyd Mayweather Jr, should the latter finally agree to fight him, would probably install Manny as one of the five greatest boxers of all time, if not the best.

One of Clottey’s strengths is his vaunted and almost impenetrable defense and durable chin.  He blocks punches with his arms and elbows while he waits in ambush.

Fights are however not won over defense. This is not championship basketball where coaches give premium at stopping opponents from scoring a basket.

This is boxing where the name of the game is hurting and stopping your opponent.

Clottey cannot afford to fight in bursts against Manny Pacquiao.  He will have to eventually open up and punch his way in to have a real chance of winning.

Manny Pacquiao has recently shown his uncanny and unparalleled ability to break down his opponent, whichever way. 

Against an aggressive Ricky Hatton, he timed the Briton with accurate right hooks – to the face and to the body – in the first round before delivering a single twisting left straight and looked like a left hook as coup d’ grace.  It knocked out Hatton dead straight from his track. 

Against a heavy bomber like Miguel Angel Cotto – his latest knockout victim – Manny showed how speed can negate power. He also displayed his remarkably improved toughness when he allowed Cotto to unload haymakers and challenged Cotto to a brawl. And the Puerto Rican did just that. Only to find out that when he chose to engage Manny in a phone booth brawl, he got the worst of the exchanges.

Clottey’s defense, contrary to what many boxing analysts are saying, is far from being perfect. In fact, there are tons of holes in it for a boxer like Manny Pacquiao.

Against the likes of Zab Judah and Cotto, it may work because these fighters did not have the footwork and agility to come in and dart out. And as proven, that blinding and blurring speed of Manny Pacquiao becomes more lethal with the combination of power.

If Manny cannot penetrate that hands-up-high-elbows-tucked-in defense of Clottey with left straights, look for the Filipino beakbuster to go for the breadbasket with his right hooks. Manny will run circles and create angles for himself against Clottey who is not known to possess great lateral movement. 

Clottey cannot also block all of Manny’s punches simply because these do not come in orthodox manner. Manny’s haymakers are no longer limited to that powerful left straight. He put down Cotto for the second time in the fourth round with a left uppercut that twisted like a left hook by the time it hit the target. Of course, Cotto was crouching which made the punch more effective.

Manny’s goal is to rattle Clottey and make him backpedal where his left straights will be most effective. To do that, he will have to make Clottey respect his right hooks.

And like the Cotto fight, Manny will test the limits of his endurance and resilience by gauging Clottey’s power. Once he realizes he can take Clottey’s punches, it will be a breeze for Manny in a matter of time.

Manny will look for Clottey to bully him – even watch for those illegal punches and head butts.

Distance, however is the name of the game for Manny. Clottey loves to throw short punches and Coach Freddie Roach is aware of that.

In the end, Manny’s ability to adapt to the situation will be a major key to a victory by stoppage. Carelessness, however, is his worst enemy and nightmare.

So bring out those beer cans. The Event is on!