Manny Pacquiao scored a unanimous decision over previously undefeated Chris Algieri in Macau, China, early Sunday afternoon local time.
Prior to the blowout victory, Pacquiaos trainer, Freddie Roach, was emphatic that he wanted to see a knockout. After all, the Pacman has not registered a KO since his 2009 stoppage of Miguel Cotto. Against Algieri, Pacquiao scored six knockdowns and yet was unable to halt the tenacious but overmatched fighter from Long Island, N.Y.
What is next for Pacquiao?
Possible future opponents include Danny Garcia, Diego Chaves, Keith Thurman, and Juan Manuel Marquez. But it is, of course, the mega-matchup with Floyd Mayweather that the world has been patiently awaiting.
Early this month, boxing commentator Larry Merchant said, There is a lot of pressure on Pacquiao in this fight, because if he wins and looks dominant it will put public pressure on Mayweather to fight him.
Pacquiaos promoter, Bob Arum, sees things differently. He said, Floyd is immune to public pressure and makes his own decisions about who he will fight. Arum continued, I really think that Mayweather is afraid of Pacquiao and he wont fight him unless he detects some serious deterioration in Mannys skills.
If Arum is right, is there anything that Mayweather might have seen in this weekends fight to embolden him to make the fight with Pacquiao?
While Pacquiaos speed and reflexes were intact, he was largely unable to cut off the ring on the fleet but relatively inept Algieri. Against orthodox fighters like Algieri (Mayweather is orthodox), Pacquiao comes in behind a double right jab and then fires a highly concussive straight left. In the past, that sequence has driven opponents to the ropes and often into a shell, at which point Pacquiao explodes with another salvo of hooks and uppercuts.
Every time Pacquiao stunned Algieri, and that was frequent enough, Algieri was able to spin out to his left and move the tussle back into the center of the ring, and the center of the ring is where Mayweather is an absolute monarch.
The one-punch knockout at the right hand of Marquez in 2012 has made the Pacman wary of being overly aggressive. After his victory against Algieri, Pacquiao acknowledged that he was going for the knockout but didnt want to get careless and overconfident. Nevertheless, the willingness to apply heat with reckless abandon has always been the Pacmans recipe for success.
Throughout the contest, Pacquiao lammed Algieri with lead lefts. Still, Pacquiao has always had the dangerous habit of squaring his shoulders when he comes in and gets tagged with right hands. Though not very potent, Algieri was able to touch Pacquiao with his right and Mayweathers quick and chopping right is of a much higher magnitude than Algieri.
Before the bout Roach said, My biggest fear is that Manny looks so good against Algieri that it will send Floyd over the bend and away from fighting us forever.
Perhaps, Roach need not worry too much.
Source: http://blogs.wsj.com/dailyfix/2014/11/23/how-pacquiao-could-be-vulnerable-against-mayweather/
No comments:
Post a Comment