With the biggest crowd on American soil in 17 years on hand cheering him on at Cowboys Stadium, Manny Pacquiao dominated a strangely passive Joshua Clottey from the opening bell Saturday night to retain his welterweight title and reiterate his status as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.

The fight wasn’t close, and it was never in doubt.

One ringside judge gave Pacquiao every round, while the two others gave him all but one. The Associated Press scored it a shutout for the Filipino sensation.

While it wasn’t as flashy as his knockout of Ricky Hatton or as brutal as the beat-down he laid upon Oscar De La Hoya, there was no debating that Pacquiao was in complete control the entire way against a fighter who kept his gloves up high in front of his face and chose to engage him only in spurts.

In the biggest fight of his career, Clottey chose to play it conservatively which worked to keep him upright but never gave himself any chance to get the win.

The fight was more of an event than a real competition, hauling in the biggest crowd in the USA for a fight since Julio Cesar Chavez fought Pernell Whitaker at the Alamodome in 1993. Pacquiao earned a nice payday though; who reportedly earned at least $12 million and easily added to the legend and lore he has gained as one of the greatest fighters of his time.

“It’s one of the most incredible stories not just in boxing but anywhere,” promoter Bob Arum said. “Fourteen years ago he was sleeping in a cardboard shack in the Philippines and tonight he puts 51,000 people in this palace in Dallas.”

This event should have carried more gigantic headlines though as Pacquiao was supposed to have been fighting Floyd Mayweather Jr. instead of Clottey, but the mega fight fell apart over a dispute over blood testing. He took out any frustrations over missing out on the biggest fight of his career by beating up Clottey on the biggest stage of his career.

“I want that fight, the world wants that fight, but it’s up to him,” Pacquiao said. “I’m ready to fight any time.”

That time won’t come around for awhile though. Mayweather is scheduled to fight Sugar Shane Mosley on May 1, and the earliest the two could tango together would be in the fall and only if Mayweather backs off his demands for blood testing.

Keep yourselves posted here for news of any potential Pacquiao-Mayweather showdown.

If you haven’t already, head over to HatClub.com to celebrate the great Manny Pacquiao’s victory by picking up our newest exclusive Wip Cap Pac-Q Fight Hat that features the signature Pac-Man inspired boxing Filipino sun logo with the Bay Bridge behind it on the front panel.

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