Pursuit of title not trivial

Little did Joshua Clottey know when he stepped into the ring in April, he would become the answer to a tragic boxing trivia question, the last man to fight Diego Corrales.

The former champion was killed in a motorcycle accident in Las Vegas on May 7.

"I liked Corrales very much," Clottey said. "When I heard the news he had died, I was very sad, for him and for boxing. He was a great champion."

Clottey (31-2, 20 knockouts) will fight tonight for the first time since posting a 10-round unanimous decision victory over Corrales after flooring him in the ninth and 10th rounds on April 7.

Clottey will face Felix Flores in a 10-round welterweight bout at the Hard Rock Hotel as part of a Top Rank card that features heavyweight Tye Fields in a 10-round bout against Dominic Jenkins.

A slip-up against Flores (22-5, 18 KOs) could doom the title hopes of Clottey, a native of Accra, Ghana, who is ranked in the top 10 by all of boxing's sanctioning bodies.

"I'm here to do my job," said Clottey, who lives and trains in the Bronx, N.Y. "People are beginning to notice me and like me, and the chance of getting a title fight motivates me to do well every time I go in the ring. Hopefully, I'll win and get more big fights."

His trainer, Vinny Scolpino, said Clottey has no excuse not to move forward.

"He's trained well," Scolpino said. "He's in good shape, and he's ready to rumble.

"To me, every fight is a big fight. We're not taking this guy lightly."

The night he fought Corrales in Springfield, Mo., which qualified as a big fight in his career, Clottey said he knew he was going to win.

"I'm a proud fighter," he said. "I don't like losing. I was going to fight with my heart.

"I didn't worry about Corrales. It was about me and my training. I trained well for that fight, and I was ready."

Top Rank president Bob Arum said Clottey is close to earning a title shot. Maybe not against WBC and Ring magazine champion Floyd Mayweather Jr., but perhaps against the three other welterweight titleholders.

"He's a tough kid," Arum said. "He's a real warrior. He keeps coming at you, and he has no fear.

"He destroyed Corrales. There's no question he can compete with (WBO champ) Paul Williams, (IBF champ Kermit) Cintron or (WBA champ Miguel) Cotto. Mayweather is probably too fast for him, but we're talking about Mayweather here.

"He's in his prime, and the only thing he's lacking is opportunity. This fight can help get him closer to that opportunity."