Big injustice for boxing if Floyd vs Pacman is off

“Boxing is the ultimate challenge. There’s nothing that can compare to testing yourself the way you do every time you step in the ring.” Sugar Ray Leonard

By Alex P. Vidal

THERE should be no more excuses.
Fight fans will never forgive those behind the careers of Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. if the two won’t face each other next.
Or if the dream fight, postponed multiple times, will never happen, at all.
But, lo and behold, Uncle Bob Arum is now singing a different tune.
The 82-year-old Harvard lawyer has joined the chorus of those calling for the Pacquiao-Mayweather match to happen soon.
“Speaking for Manny and myself, we’re tired! Every place we go they ask us when is that fight gonna happen? When is it going to be made? You cannot believe the number of times I’m questioned about this by just people, waiters, anybody, who wants to know one question ‘when is the fight gonna happen?’ I say enough is enough! Let’s just make the fight happen. Let’s get it done,”
Arum declared hours after the Filipino lefty retained his WBO 147-lb crown with a commanding 119-103, 119-103, 120-102 unanimous decision against Chris Algieri in Macao on November 23.
“And let’s make it the next fight for each fighter sometime in the next six months of next year. That’s our position and we’re going to do what we can to make it happen.”

BLAME

We are tired of the now-you-hear-it-now-you-don’t tug of war; of the blaming game and finger-pointing on who’s to blame why until now the megabucks deal has not been inked.
The Pacquiao vs Mayweather fight should happen soon or next year.
No more 2016. No more 2017.
By that time, Pacquiao, 37 years old before the May 2016 elections in the Philippines, will be very busy campaigning for senator.
By that time, 39-year-old Mayweather (47-0, 26 KOs), the richest-ever prizefighter in history, may no longer want to allow somebody to inflict more damage on his face in preparation for a grand retirement.
By 2016, the commodities may no longer be ripe.
It’s enough that Mayweather has collected five straight decision victories against Miguel Angel Cotto (12 rounds), Robert Guerrero (12 rounds), Saul Alvarez (12 rounds) and Marcos Rene Maidana (12 rounds twice) while waiting for Pacquiao to get old.
It’s enough that Pacquiao amassed seven decision wins in his last nine bouts with defeats only to Timothy Bradley (first fight) and Juan Manuel Marquez (KO6, fourth fight) while waiting for Mayweather to say “yes, I’ll fight you, Manny.”
There are other upcoming ring superstars waiting for their date with fame and destiny who deserve to be given large paychecks and mammoth publicity like the one being enjoyed by Pacquiao and Mayweather.
They are only waiting for Mayweather’s and Pacquiao’s exit and they, too, must be itching to hit a paydirt in the main events.

CASH

Giving Pacquiao and Mayweather “honorable” or farewell cash prizes as a token of appreciation for their magnificent contribution in fight business won’t hurt the industry that benefited a lot from their talent.
Uncle Bob should expect Mayweather to continue demanding for a 60-40 purse. HBO, Top Rank and probably Showtime (a rival network) should be ready to fork out some $50 to $60 million for Mayweather’s pcoket.
After the Macao conquest of Aligieri, Pacquiao was again hounded by calls for a Mayweather duel, which is actually beyond his call.
Pacquiao (57-5, 38 KOs) is very much willing to retire immediately after facing Mayweather for an exclamation point of his fistic career that started on January 25, 1995 with a four-round unanimous decision against Edmund Enting Ignacio in Sablayan, Mindoro Oriental.

AGAIN

Fighting again after a Mayweather showdown would be a total folly unless he wants to retire with a brain injury, physical deformities and speech defects (he can’t afford to speak like “Barok” in the Philippine Senate).
He does not need more fame and money. Pacquiao has secured a place in history.
As an elected senator in 2016, he can forget boxing and focus as a lawmaker.
Retirement should be a non-negotiable option for Pacquiao win or lose against the charismatic black American.
Mayweather will never be happy for the rest of his life once he retires without swapping leathers with the only man in the planet to win eight world titles in eight different weight classes.
He will be booed and jeered at as “coward” everywhere he goes.
It’s a big injustice for boxing and a mockery of sports if the Pacquiao vs Mayweather duel will not materialize.
No matchup can be compared to the Pacquiao vs Mayweather rumble in terms of global excitement and promotional wizardry.
Fans can tolerate the delay, but not the postponement.
Fans can forgive and accept if Mayweather lost to Maidana and Pacquiao lost to Algieri, but not the cancelation of the
Pacquiao versus Mayweather match, much ballyhooed as the ultimate showdown.
It’s better late than never.

 

KO remains elusive for Pacquiao

By Alex P. Vidal

AS expected, Manny Pacquiao walked past unbeaten WBO light welterweight champion Chris Algieri, but failed to score the knockout demanded by his fans since November 2009, winning by a lopsided decision after 12 rounds to keep his WBO welterweight crown at the Cotai Arena inside the Venetian Resort in Macao, China.
Pacquiao (57-5-2, 38 KOs) scored a tension-filled unanimous decision over Algieri (20-1, 8 KOs), who was downed six times and became the seventh man to finish the distance with Pacquiao since March 13, 2010 when Pacquiao beat Joshua Clottey by 12-round unanimous decision in Arlington, Texas.
The scores were 119-103, 119-03, 120-102.
Pacquiao, 35, stalked Algieri, 30, the whole fight, as Algieri used his footwork to backpedal and box from outside.
Algieri slipped in round two but referee Genaro Rodriquez credited it as a knockdown for Pacquiao.
Algieri never threatened Pacquiao, who patiently waited to land a solid combination in a hope to nail the elusive knockout victory.

SOUTHPAW

The Filipino southpaw scored two more knockdowns in round six. Pacquiao floored Algieri two more times in round nine and Algieri, fighting for the first time outside New York, barely survived.
Algieri went down for the sixth time at the end of round ten.
Pacquiao’s last KO was against Miguel Angel Cotto on November 14, 2009.
Freddie Roach had predicted a first round stoppage win for his ward, who is now a playing coach in the Philippine Basketball Association.
Bob Arum negotiates for Pacquiao’s next fight eight against Ruslan Provodnikov or Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Juan Manuel Marquez is one of the names being floated as Pacquiao’s next foe. If the fight happens, it will be their fifth meeting.

 

BRIEF PRE-FIGHT ANALYSIS: What to expect when Pacquiao and Algieri throw punches

By Alex P. Vidal

–Pacquiao is left-handed. He throws a jab with his right and makes a follow up straight with his left.

–Algieri is orthodox or right-handed. He throws a jab with a left and makes a follow up straight with his right.

–Pacquiao will attack and tries to get nearer Algieri most of the time so he can connect with solid combinations.

–Algieri will try to stop Pacquiao in his tracks by using his reach advantage and sprays Pacquiao with a two-punch (jab-straight) combination.

–Pacquiao, being the shorter, will go in front of Algieri.

–Algieri will use lateral movements (footwork) and step side by side to avoid a frontal assault.

FINISHING TOUCHES:

–Pacquiao will use a left hook most of the time to catch the taller Algieri. A left hook will come after a set-up right jab. The fight could end with a single shot (left hook). If the impact is not so strong, Pacquiao can make another follow-up left hook or right uppercut. Pacquiao could finish off Algieri in any round with a two-punch combination.

–In order to knock out Pacquiao, Algieri must be able to connect at least five unanswered blows which is a remote possibility considering that Pacquiao moves quickly and can evade Algieri’s dragnet after being hit with two unanswered punches.

–To beat Pacquiao, Algieri must start piling up points in the first phase (rounds 1 to 6) of the bout and sustain it in the last six rounds. That is granting that Algieri will survive Pacquiao’s juggernaut in the first four rounds which is expected to be violent and bloody.

–Normally it should be Pacquiao, given his vast edge in experience, quality of opponents plus speed and force, who should win by either KO or TKO. If he fails to flatten Algieri past seven rounds, the fight can go to the judges’ scorecards.

–Normally it should be Algieri, because of his height and reach advantage and perhaps stamina, who should win on points if Pacquiao can’t connect the much-ballyhooed haymakers. If Algieri will run most of the time and forget that the fight will be decided on the scorecards thus he fails to land crisp punches that would convince the judges, Algieri will lose by unanimous decision.

 

Warning to Pacquiao: Algieri ain’t heavy and he’s not your brother

“The first thing I learned in boxing is to not get hit. That’s the art of boxing. Execute your opponent without getting hit. In sports school, we were putting our hands behind our backs and having to defend ourselves with our shoulders, by rolling, by moving round the ring, moving out feet.”
Wladimir Klitschko

By Alex P. Vidal

WE were surprised to find out that Manny Pacquiao (56-5-2, 38 KOs) was heavier than Chris Algieri (20-0, 8 KOs) during the official weigh in a day before their 12-round battle for the WBO welterweight title in Macao on November 22.
Pacquiao was 143.8; Algieri 143.6.
If the opponent is not heavy and moves like a rabbit, he can be a difficult target.
A moving object is always hard to hit.
If the moving vehicle with a full tank does not carry heavy passengers, its speed is like a bullet in the Ventura highway.
Even if they will dispute the WBO 147-lb title in a 144 lbs or “catch weight”, we always expected Pacquiao’s opponent to be heavier.
Antonio Margarito, one of the two other tallest trees in Pacquiao’s forest at five feet and 11 inches, weighed 150 pounds as against Pacquiao’s 144.5 pounds when they disputed the WBC light middleweight crown in Arlington, Texas on Nov. 13, 2010.
Oscar De La Hoya, the other giant opponent at five feet and 11 and a half inches, weighed 145 pounds as against Pacquiao’s 142 pounds when they battled for the IBO light welterweight tiara in Las Vegas on December 6, 2008.
Another tall customer, Brandon Rios, weighed 146 and a half pounds as against Pacquiao’s 145 pounds when they rumbled for the WBO international welterweight bauble in Macao on Nov. 24, 2013.
Timothy Bradley was 145.5 pounds while Pacquiao was 145 pounds when they fought in a rematch for WBO welterweight championship in Las Vegas on April 12, 2014.

FIGHT DAY

During fight day, their weights are always expected to balloon as they immediately fill up their empty stomachs with juice drinks and heavy meals to replenish the body.
We expect Pacquiao and Algieri to weight at 147 to 149 pounds before the bell rings.
In any weight category, the heavier boxer is the slower.
No one is giving Algieri the benefit of the doubt to score a one-punch knockout against the Filipino KO artist owing to his not-so-impressive ring ledger.
But the lighter Algieri, standing five feet and 10 inches, will be a difficult moving target.
Computer statistics of his previous bouts revealed Algieri’s work rate increases as the fight moves on to the final stanza.
The volume of Algieri’s punches, as the bout progresses, should not be taken for granted.
Experts consider the New Yorker as “a very intelligent fighter” who has channeled his brains to prizefighting.
An intelligent fighter knows what is best and what is dangerous for him.

DANGEROUS

It is dangerous for Algieri to engage Pacquiao in a slugfest.
It is best for him to weave and bob, sidestep when trapped in the corner, use Ali’s rope a dope tactic, and utilize a lot of lateral movements.
With a longer reach and legs, he can survive and live another day until 12 rounds if he can avoid Pacquiao’s early kamizake-like assault which includes a left hook and right uppercut.
“Knowing he doesn’t have one-punch power, Algieri smartly has utilized incredible volume and lateral movement to forge his undefeated record,” reported the Compubox.
“In winning the title from Provodnikov, Algieri averaged 82.8 punches per round to Provodnikov’s 64.7 and his jab was particularly busy (47.2 thrown, nearly twice the 24.7 junior welterweight norm) and effective (9.2 connects per round was nearly twice the 140-pound average).

HEART

“Despite his Basilio-esque swelling Algeri never lost heart and the result were wide gaps in connects across the board (288-205 overall, 111-41 jabs, 177-164 power; 29%-26% overall, 20%-12% jabs, 41%-38% power).”
Pacquiao will have lot of running to do to cut the ring and catch the tall rabbit for his first KO win after eight fights (six wins by decision and two losses).
The memory of the 6th round KO lost to nemesis Juan Manuel Marquez is still very much in his mind, thus Pacquiao, 35, can’t afford to underestimate Algieri, 30, even if the American was able to score only eight stoppages in 20 victories.
Algieri will have a lot of adjustments to make since he will be fighting a lefty who can disarrange a bull’s set of teeth with a single punch.
He is prepared to ride in a bicycle and use his footwork diligently to avoid losing a single tooth.
Referee Genaro Rodriguez probably has prepared to run around for 12 rounds as we expect the clash to finish the full route with Pacquiao winning by unanimous decision.

 

Algieri sent to Macao to be massacred

“Boxing is not about your feelings. It’s about performance.” Manny Pacquiao

By Alex P. Vidal

IN terms of style and skills, Chris Algieri, 30, pales in comparison to Manny Pacquiao, 35.
Experience wise, the difference is like an automobile and a pushcart.
Algieri (20-0, 5 KOs) joined prizefighting at 23 while Pacquiao (56-5-2, 38 KOs) has been boxing as a pro since 15.
He was an amateur boxer at 9 in Gen. Santos City.
Algieri, five feet and 10 inches, has a KO of 40 percent while Pacquiao, five feet and six inches, tots a KO of 60.32 percent.
Judging from his record, Algieri does not possess a one-punch KO power.
Pacquiao has demolished more than a dozen fighters with a single blow.
Because of his longer reach, Algieri is expected to use a two-fisted assault (jab-straight combination) to prevent brawler Pacquiao from penetrating his breadbasket when they clash for the 12-round WBO welterweight title at the Cotai Arena, Venetian Resort in Macao on November 22.

TACTIC

The same tactic Algieri used when he survived two knockdowns in the first round en route to escaping with a 12-round split decision against Ruslan Provodnikov (23-3, 16 KOs) at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York on July 14, 2014.
Criticized for his failure to score a knockout win since 2009, Pacquiao knows he badly needs a stoppage victory in Macao to convince his fans he isn’t yet over the hill.
Top Rank’s Bob Arum picked the unbeaten but inexperienced Algieri to make sure Pacquiao will satisfy the bloodthirsty fight fans.
But Team Algieri thinks the big break is more than a blessing in disguise for the previously unknown former world kickboxing champion.
Algieri himself believes his come-from-behind win against Provodnikov was not a fluke.

ENDING

He foresees Pacquiao’s ending in the 10th canto on a technical knockout (TKO).
But Algieri’s record does not indicate he can easily eat alive fighters of Pacquiao’s caliber.
All his eight KO victims were either patsies or dishwashers. No big names; all small fries: Ken Dunham (TKO3), Rakeem Carter (TKO4), Clarence Smith (TKO1), Eric Rodriguez (TKO3), Julias Edmonds (TKO4), Winston Mathis (TKO3), Wilfredo Acuna (TKO7).
Pacquiao, on the other hand, has demolished some of the most destructive fighters in the world en route to collecting eight world crowns in eight different divisions.
Tall fighters like Algieri are actually Pacquiao’s favorite hitting targets.
The hard-hitting Filipino superstar can stop an opponent with a body attack. He is trained to assault even a dinosaur and an elephant in the square jungle.
The congressman from Mindanao also loves to rumble against opponents who move forward and engage him in waterfront brawl.

AVOID

Algieri will avoid this type of war, of course.
As the defending champion, Algieri is expected to make a lot of lateral movements and will not press the fight.
Pacquiao will be coming out like a house on fire in the first three stanzas.
The longer the fight develops, the more that Pacquiao becomes dangerous.
At the back of his mind, only a knockout win will redeem his name after six victories, all by decision, interrupted only by a split decision defeat to Timothy Bradley on June 9, 2012 and an embarrassing 6th round KO loss to Juan Manuel Marquez on December 8, 2012.
A mistake by Algieri in the first three rounds could end the fight by a quick knockout once Pacquiao is able to connect with a left hook, the same punch that sent Algieri to the canvas for a mandatory eight count in the first round against Provodnikov.
Algieri was sent to Macao to be massacred.