Pacquiao vs. Algieri Results: Winner, Twitter Reaction, Breakdown and Analysis
Manny Pacquiao convincingly dismantled Chris Algieri on Saturday night, setting up a possible superfight with pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Pac-Man delivered Algieri his first defeat by way of a convincing points decision that was unanimous on all three scorecards: 119-103, 119-103 and 120-102.
Pacquiao had his opponent on the floor no less than six times, showing his form in the ring is back to being something like his best.
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And the champion immediate called out Mayweather after the victory, saying it is the fight the world wants to see, per Dan Rafael of ESPN.com: "The people deserve that fight. The fans deserve that fight. It's time to make that fight happen. It's been a long time. I want that fight. They're always denying the fight. I think the fight has to happen."
Pacquiao appears to have regained the nasty streak that seemed to have left him in the past few years. As this Vine shows, his accuracy and power have re-emerged to classic levels:
As always with big cards, there was a wealth of topical discussion on social media during and after the fight—with most commenting how outclassed Algieri was on the night.
It seemed that Pac-Man would grab the 39th knockout of his career, but despite huge amounts of pressure from the Filipino, the contest went to the scorecards.
ESPN's Todd Grisham criticised Algieri and his tactics, blaming his corner for the way the fight panned out:
Despite his tactics, the 30-year-old was never going to hang with a fighter who can hit such lofty heights of form during a contest. Pacquiao is rightfully described as one of the greats of his generation—but we have not seen "this" Pacquiao for quite some time.
His ruthlessness and efficiency were at their peak, and he made Algieri look very average.
Tim Dahlberg of The Associated Press described the contest as a "mismatch," saying the fight seemed over as a battle as early as the third round:
And Algieri acknowledged Pac-Man's dominance after the fight. He knew Pacquiao would be looking to finish him early and would take the war to him early on, per Rafael:
"I knew he would come on strong. I had a feeling he would try to blast me out of there just because I'm not used to the big stage. Manny is the best in the world at fighting like Manny Pacquiao. That's really what it is. His style, he has so much experience. He's perfected fighting like Manny Pacquiao.
The plan was to get to the later rounds without taking too much damage, step up the pace and land shots that would hurt him. If the knockout came, it came. We weren't specifically looking for the knockout, but we were looking to put some damage on the guy.
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Pac-Man's performance now sets up a hugely lucrative tie with Mayweather, but will the Moneyman really accept a battle with Pacquiao, who is back to being his best?
It would be astonishing if the answer is yes. Mayweather perfectly crafts his fights, but he will know that when Pacquiao is throwing his power shots at the pace he showed on Saturday, there is every chance he could lose his unbeaten record.
And this was also the opinion of ESPN's Skip Bayless, who cannot see Mayweather currently risking his legacy:
Despite this, Pac-Man clearly wants a shot now at the biggest fight of his career, and with both pound-for-pound legends reaching their later years, the contest must happen in 2015, if it is to happen at all.
Pacquiao was superb against Algieri, and it was good to see the dominant warrior of old resurface.
It seemed that he would just use his name to form a set of winnable bouts in the twilight of his career—but now the big one against Mayweather is a real possibility.
Mayweather also knows that a fight with Pacquiao would set new box office records, and this is the carrot that dangles before his nose. His in-ring defence has always been supreme, but only he will know if he can cope with a resurgent Pac-Man, sometime in the next 12 months.
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