Manny Pacquaio arrived at Cowboys Stadium Wednesday in a bus covered with his likeness, the seats filled with members of his entourage. He walked into the formal part of his appearance wearing a straw hat and a dark blazer. He quickly swapped the sports coat for a red jacket featuring his MP logo in golden thread. He talked about his upcoming election for Congress in his homeland, the Philippines. He talked about singing - rehearsing with his band the night before, with another session later Wednesday night, all in preparation for a performance at the after-party following his fight Saturday night. Oh, yeah. The fight. Billed as “The Event,” Pacquiao is facing Joshua Clottey Saturday night in boxing's debut at the $1.2 billion Cowboys Stadium. It's an intriguing matchup perfect for a football stadium - Pacquiao's furious offense against Clottey's dedication to defense - and it'll look amazing on giant video boards towering over the ring. A sellout crowd of 45,000 is expected, with the attendance possibly soaring if Cowboys owner Jerry Jones decides to sell standing-room-only tickets. And, of course, there's the pay-per-view audience that promoter Bob Arum said is likely to top the hoped-for total of 700,000. Put the pieces together, and it all makes perfect sense: The WBO welterweight champion - already considered the best fighter in the world, pound for pound - is treating this entire week as one big performance, especially if he wins that election and decides to devote more time to politics than pugilism. “I'm inspired to give a good show, to do my best,” Pacquiao said, smiling. “To impress the people, you have to make your best (effort).” Then trainer Freddie Roach jumped in, cranking up the hype. “There's no stage big enough for Manny Pacquiao,” Roach said. “He loves it, and I love it. He's going to perform for the crowd. He'll entertain all 45,000. He'll entertain everybody.” Roach said the adrenaline surge that's going to come from walking into the ring in these surroundings already has been factored into the game plan. That likely means even more punches from Pacquiao (50-3-2), who is already known for throwing plenty. Then again, Clottey (35-3) is known for blocking punches. The 32-year-old Ghana native also has never been knocked out - he's been knocked down only once. Clottey is taller and with a longer reach. Clottey has, however, said he will target Filipino Manny Pacquiao's body to soften up his opponent. “I will go to his body a lot. I will follow him, I will hit him to the body,” Clottey told reporters Wednesday.
