DALLAS – Joshua Clottey said he and Filipino foe Manny Pacquiao have something in common.

Clottey said he grew up dirt poor in Accra, Ghana, much the same way Pacquiao did in General Santos City.

“There was nothing there,” Clottey said on Tuesday at Cowboys Stadium in the city of Arlington, site of their March 13 showdown for Pacquiao‘s World Boxing Organization welterweight crown.

“Me and Manny Pacquiao came from the same beginnings. There was nothing in Ghana and that was the same thing with him (in the Philippines),” said Clottey, pointing to Pacquiao’s abysmal early life in General Santos City.

Clottey said he “had to fight to survive” and as early as six years old he had known the gratifying sensation of throwing and even receiving a punch.

“I had to fight my way out of poverty,” said the New York-based Clottey, a heavy underdog, according to oddsmakers.

Clottey said the Pacquiao fight is a once-in-a-lifetime experience and that it is going to be an opportunity for him to alter the course of his life in the event he pulls off a major upset.

To rev up for Pacquiao’s blinding speed, Clottey said he will tap a conditioning coach to help him in weight and endurance training.

“This is not an easy fight for me. I am fighting the pound-for-pound king,” said Clottey, who has a 35-3 win-loss card with 20 knockouts.

But there is one thing Clottey believes he has that others who Pacquiao beat up don’t.

“I have a good defense and with this I will let Manny think, make him confuse,” added Clottey.

For this stab at stardom, Clottey is guaranteed $1 million – the biggest of his career – plus a percentage on the pay-per-view sales. (Tempo Sports)