Manny Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach turned 50 on Friday and for his birthday wants his charge to knock out Joshua Clottey when the pair meet on March 13. Pacquiao will defend his WBO welterweight title against Clottey in Dallas and the Trainer of the Year wants the Filipino to be the first person to leave the tough Ghanaian on the canvas.

Clottey is a larger fighter than any Pac-Man has faced before and his power and durability will ensure the fight goes into the later rounds – from 39 fights Clottey has lost only three, with two on points and one disqualification.

However, Roach wants to push his fighter to knock out the 32-year-old and become the first person to do so.

When asked what he wanted Pacquiao to do for his birthday, Roach answered: “Knock Clottey out".

Pacquiao, a seven-weight world champion who picked up Fighter of the Year for 2009, was originally scheduled to face Floyd Mayweather Jr on the same date, but the highly publicised breakdown of the fight over drug testing measures left both without an opponent.

Pacquiao opted to face Clottey in what should be an intriguing fight, while Mayweather will step into the ring with Shane Mosley on May 1 in Las Vegas.

Fans the world over will be eager to see a match up between ‘Money’ Mayweather and Pacquiao, but if agreements cannot be made over drug tests, boxing may miss out on one of the biggest fights of all time.

Pacquiao has expressed his interest in retiring should a Mayweather fight not materialise and may even take on Hollywood with Steven Segal.