Clottey will send Pacman to hospital, says cook

GRAPEVINE, TEXAS—Joshua Clottey trusts fellow Ghanaian Kwaku Gyamfi with his life.

Nearly six feet tall and around 300 pounds, Gyamfi swoons over Clottey’s boxing skills and swears his countryman will run away with Manny Pacquiao’s World Boxing Organization welterweight crown when they tangle on March 13 at the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Gyamfi, who acts as Clottey’s cook and assistant, thinks the challenger will pummel Pacquiao into submission or beat him up so badly the Filipino ring icon won’t be able to perform in his post-fight party for the first time.

“He (Manny) will be going straight to the hospital, with his face cut up and bruised,” Gyamfi told Manila-based sportswriters at a Gaylord Texan Hotel bar here Tuesday. “He’s going to be hit by a brick.”

Gyamfi said the secret to Clottey’s strength lies in African food.

In the HBO pre-fight documentary of the Pacquiao-Clottey clash dubbed Road to Dallas, Gyamfi was shown cooking salmon slices and vegetables for Clottey.

Like Clottey, chief trainer Lenny DeJesus believes The Event is going to be interesting.

“This (Pacquiao-Clottey) is a dangerous fight,” said DeJesus, who worked with Pacquiao and Hall-of-Fame trainer Freddie Roach as cutman for five fights from 2003 to 2005.

DeJesus insists his partnership with Clottey has been a good one and is capable of toppling boxing’s No. 1 tandem.

“Roach may spring up a surprise for me, but I also have a surprise for him,” said DeJesus. “If he knew this is going to be an easy fight he would be talking, but he’s being careful.”

DeJesus added that Clottey sparred for only 90 rounds, all against southpaws, and dispatched all of his sparmates after four rounds.

Author: Roy Luarca

Source: sports.inquirer.net