why is simple.

1. Clottey is an even smaller name than he is.

2. Clottey is NOT his mandatory.

3. This was a tune up to get to the money fights, and he almost blew it.

4. At 30+, how many more times do you think he is going to get this chance?
last fight (10 mos), ended 1st Rd,
before that (Apr '05) ended 5th Rd,
before that was a 10 Rd KO in Feb 2005!
That's 16 rounds in 2 years since his last loss! This 12Rds was good for him, but he needs better sparring...