Pacquiao looks to land on Chris Algieri
Heavy betting favorite Manny Pacquiao demolished welterweight challenger Chris Algieri on Saturday night, winning nearly ever round on all three judges scorecards, en route to a unanimous decision victory. Pacquiao scored six knockdowns in the fight, and it appeared at many times he was on the verge of scoring a knockout victory, though Algieri survived all 12 rounds honorably.
Pacquiao is now 35 years old, and some questioned if the fire still burned inside the veteran fighter, or if he may possibly overlook the relatively unknown Algieri. Those questions were answered from the very first round, as Pacquiao dominated throughout the entire fight and looked in his prime. Algieri was very confident coming into the fight, as confidence is simply in his nature. He was undefeated and scored an upset over Ruslan Provodnikov just to earn this fight, and he was sure his corner had a good gameplan to defeat Pacquiao. The gameplan was either not effective at all, or simply poorly executed, because Algieri had no answers for Pacquiao's blinding hand speed and combinations. Algieri still could have a bright future in the sport, but it was evident he and Pacquiao are in two different classes, the gap in skill level was clear.
As always, fans are clamoring for a Pacquiao-Mayweather showdown, which could take place in May 2015. Pacquiao has said he wants the fight in the past, and repeated that sentiment after last night's fight. Rumors have begun to swirl of serious negotiations taking place between representatives of the two fighters, though boxing fans have been down this road before with no fight to show for. It will be interesting to see if that fight can be made, or if Pacquiao will go in a different direction, as his trainer Freddie Roach had talked about moving Pacquiao down to light welterweight, a 140lb division.
(Photo Credit: Chris Hyde/Getty Images. http://espn.go.com/boxing/story/_/id/11923802/manny-pacquiao-defeats-chris-algieri-unanimous-decision-retain-welterweight-title)
