Clottey Fights Tonight

It is a measure of how far Francisco (Panchito) Bojado has come and how much confidence he has in his abilities that he would accept a new opponent on less than two weeks' notice. After he steps out of the ring against Emmanuel Clottey at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City tonight, Bojado will know whether that confidence is well-founded.

Bojado (14-1, 11 KOs), a promising young junior welterweight, is meeting Clottey (21-5, 14 KOs) on the undercard of the Arturo Gatti-Gianluca Branco WBC junior welterweight title match on HBO at 10 p.m. Bojado, who will be making his debut on the cable network, has a chance to upstage Gatti, who is an exciting staple of HBO.

Bojado had been training in Los Angeles to meet Jesse James Leija, a former junior lightweight world champ who is the gatekeeper for anyone who wants to ascend to title contention in that division. But Leija injured his ribs in training and had to pull out of the fight.

Instead of getting Leija as a measuring stick, Bojado will get Clottey, who throws punches in bunches and comes forward.

"I think they're similar," Bojado said. "I know Leija likes to put pressure on you. He is very aggressive. He can brawl and he can box. Emmanuel is the same way. He's a boxer who likes to throw combinations. We had to make a few changes, but not many."

Bojado has settled in with his new trainer, Floyd Mayweather Sr. This will be the sixth fight that the two have worked together. Mayweather came aboard after Bojado suffered his first loss to veteran Carlos Rubio. Bojado avenged the loss in his last bout, but he said that making progress under Mayweather was more important than winning the fight.

"Floyd is really helping to get me to a different level," Bojado said. "He is helping me to get my offense and defense down. I'm working on throwing different combinations and getting really comfortable and confident about my defense. I have a whole new arsenal of combinations since I've been working with Floyd. After the loss, I just wanted to keep improving. I feel like I'm getting better all the way around."

Clottey may be able to provide a better test of just how much Bojado has learned than the 37-year-old Leija would have. Clottey, who KO'ed Mohammad Abdullaev in the 10th round last year, jumped at the opportunity to meet Bojado in an HBO showcase.

"He was at home in Ghana when I called," said Lou DiBella, Clottey's promoter. "I told him to get on a plane and get here as soon as he could."

Clottey, who was born in Bukom, Ghana, but now lives in the Bronx, was in shape because he had fought on a card in Manhattan on Nov. 21.

Clottey tried to psyche out Bojado at the press conference on Wednesday.

"I'm coming to take your heart," Clottey said.

Bojado wasn't biting.

"You can't take my heart," Bojado said. "The only thing I got is my heart and my power. But I'm coming to take off your head."