MikeLigalig.com

By Francis T.J. Ochoa
Philippine Daily Inquirer

REIGNING POUND-FOR-POUND KING Manny Pacquiao is confident a ring date with Floyd Mayweather Jr. will still happen, even as the replacement foe for his Mar. 13 bout, Joshua Clottey, made plans to fly to Ghana to address a big trainer problem.

In a report by CNN.com, Pacquiao said: “I’m still hoping a fight with Mayweather will be pushed through, maybe by summer time.”

Meanwhile, Clottey’s trainer was denied a United States visa, throwing off the fighter’s training schedule.

Trainer Godwin Nii Dzanie Kotey and assistant trainer Daniel Clottey were stuck in Ghana after encountering visa problems.

“An officer looked into the documents I had with me and he wrote something that they (were) going to do investigations and give me a call,” Kotey told Joy Sports’ Nathaniel Attoh.

In a separate interview with Eastsideboxing.com, Kotey said: “We are very disappointed. Now, Joshua is all alone in the US and even if he’s training, there’s no supervision.”

Clottey was a replacement for Mayweather when the bout between the last two boxers to hold the mythical pound-for-pound throne collapsed because of disagreements over drug-testing protocols.

Pacquiao has said the negotiations cast him in a bad light and he’d try to prove he doesn’t use performance-enhancing drugs.

“I want to clear my name because I'm a very honest person,” the reigning WBO welterweight champion told CNN. “I’m very disappointed for what he accused me of. I’m clean. I’m not cheating. I’m a very honest fighter.”

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