FT Chronicle

The PacMan will be set on a fiery bout March 13 at Cowboys Stadium, but not against Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Filipino superstar Manny Pacquiao will engage a fight with Ghana’s Joshua Clottey at the billion-dollar state-of-the-art home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys, promoters said Sunday.

Promoter Bob Arum and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones announced the deal a day after Arum attended the Cowboys’ NFL playoff victory over Philadelphia at the stadium on Saturday night.

Manny will defend his title against the hard-hitting Joshua Clottey who lost in a controversial split-decision against Miguel Cotto last June.

Pacquiao has a 50-3-2 record with 38 knockouts. He won the World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight title with a 12th round knockout of three-time world champion Miguel Cotto.

Clottey has a 35-3 record with 20 knockouts. He claimed the International Boxing Federation (IBF) welterweight title in 2008 by defeating American Zab Judah but lost a split decision to Puerto Rican Cotto last June.

Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum said Sunday he has finalized a deal to match Pacquiao against Joshua Clottey in a welterweight bout after his debatable discussions for a mega-fight with Mayweather fell apart in a lingering dispute over blood testing.

“Too bad you didn’t get Mayweather, but what difference does it make?” Arum said Bush told him. “Everybody just wants see Pacquiao anyway.”

The Pacquiao-Mayweather bout, which had been tentatively scheduled for March 13 in Las Vegas fell apart over the issue of pre-fight anti-doping blood tests. Mayweather originally insisted they be conducted right up to the fight, while Pacquiao wanted a 30-day cut off before the bout.