The Hottest Boxing Storylines for the Week of November 24
Manny Pacquiao came, saw and conquered Chris Algieri on Saturday night at the Cotai Arena in Macau, retaining his welterweight title by comically unanimous decision.
The result wasn’t shocking by any means—Bleacher Report’s experts were unanimous in picking the Pac Man to snag win No. 57—but it did raise a bunch of questions about both fighters.
Did we learn anything new about Pacquiao, one of the sport's most dominant figures over the past decade-plus?
What’s next for the future Hall of Famer as we turn the calendar forward to 2015?
Can Algieri recover from a devastating defeat, the first of his professional career?
Shifting gears to next weekend, we look at Terence Crawford’s title defense against Ray Beltran and Tyson Fury’s rematch with Dereck Chisora.
It’s a busy week, so let’s get started. These are the hottest boxing storylines for Thanksgiving week!
Did We Learn Anything from Manny Pacquiao's Win?
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Pacquiao might not be the fighter he was when he took the boxing world by storm over a decade ago—or so we keep hearing—but he had more than enough in the tank to drop (six times), dominate and embarrass Algieri on Saturday night.
A win is a win, No. 57 in the future Hall of Famer fighter’s career, and it came at the expense of an undefeated, hungry, prime champion who possessed significant physical advantages.
But what does it all mean?
Probably not a whole lot.
Pacquiao entered the fight as the second-best welterweight on the planet in most eyes and walked out of the Cotai Arena in the exact same position.
Selling Algieri as a credible opponent was a tough task coming into the fight, and Pacquiao won't get a ton of credit for doing much more than was expected of him.
That was the conundrum facing the Filipino legend coming into the fight, and a dominant performance doesn’t change that essential truth.
It was a heck of an impressive performance—yes, even better than this writer thought it would be—but where it matters most—public perception—this just won't move the needle.
What do we know today that we didn’t know yesterday or even a week ago?
Not much.
Pacquiao is still a dynamic offensive fighter.
He can still get to the target as fast if not faster than any fighter in the sport.
His combinations and ability to cut off the ring and, yes, killer instinct are still intact.
But we knew that already.
Where Does Pacquiao Go Next?
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So we’re here again, are we?
Pacquiao needs someone to fight.
Floyd Mayweather needs someone to fight.
As Lyle Fitzsimmons pointed out in the early hours of Sunday morning, the two sides have spoken more positively about the possibility of a fight in recent months than they have in years, so it should be simple, right?
You’re welcome to hope, and maybe we’ll all get our wish this time, but we’ve driven the car down this particular road and into a ditch so many times in the past that we’re going to take a "believe it when we see it" approach.
Pacquiao was vocal before and after the fight about his desire to face Mayweather in the new year, telling the assembled media at the post-fight presser that it had to happen because the fans deserve it. He accused Mayweather and his team of "denying the fight," not without some validity, but we’ve all seen this show before, and it leads to nothing but hope and broken dreams for fans.
Pacquiao, unfortunately, is much more likely to find his way into a fight with junior welterweight titlist—and former Mayweather protege—Jessie Vargas, who successfully ground out a defense against Antonio DeMarco on Saturday’s undercard.
Hear that?
It’s the air coming out of the balloon.
Pacquiao-Vargas is a fight that, as far as my understanding goes, nobody is clamoring for and nobody wants to see, but it remains highly likely anyway.
It was discussed before the fight and will be again after.
Short of Mayweather, or a sudden change of heart from longtime rival Juan Manuel Marquez on the concept of a fifth fight, there just isn’t anyone there for Pacquiao to face.
Kind of like there just isn’t anyone compelling for Mayweather to fight.
But why should we believe that this time will be different when the other million weren’t?
Does Chris Algieri Recover from His First Loss?
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Algieri said he had a plan.
The challenger from Huntington, New York, looked the part, said all the right things and promised he would shock the world in an interview with RingTV.
And then he caught his first glimpse of Pacquiao, and it all went out the window.
Algieri may not have been intimidated, but he got shellacked, quickly finding out what so many before him had the displeasure of seeing: Pacquiao attacks with such ferocity that you spend all of your time worrying about what he’s doing and none of your time figuring out how to fight back.
And that’s exactly what happened on Saturday night.
Algieri is a tough kid and a heck of a nice guy, but his team wasn’t ready for prime time.
His trainer Tim Lane’s corner instructions were ridiculous, telling HBO’s Max Kellerman (via Bad Left Hook) in Round 9 that his fighter was about to let loose and stop Pacquiao just seconds before he was tattooed, dropped and nearly stopped.
The challenger attempted to box and move, but he found out that speed kills. There was nothing in his arsenal that could discourage Pacquiao from zipping in with powerful hooks and combinations.
Algieri went down six times and lost by—using Bob Arum’s analogy from Top Rank’s live stream of the post-fight presser—two touchdowns and a field goal on the scorecards. He has a steep mountain to climb if he wants to get back near this level.
Dropping back down to junior welterweight—where he no longer holds a belt after the WBO stripped him for facing Pacquiao—seems like a smart bet.
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Can Terence Crawford Successfully Close Out a Banner 2014?
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Crawford has made a compelling case for Fighter of the Year honors in 2014.
His resume in the past 11-or-so months is pretty impressive.
He went across the pond and lifted Ricky Burns’ lightweight championship in notoriously road-fighter-unfriendly Scotland, successfully defended it by knockout against previously undefeated Yuriorkis Gamboa and brought big-time boxing back to his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska.
Not bad for a year’s work.
Crawford’s second title defense will come on Saturday night at the CenturyLink Center in Omaha against Raymundo Beltran, a challenger who can make a compelling case that he should be the defending champion.
Beltran was absolutely jobbed in his own challenge of Burns last year, getting saddled with a ridiculous draw in a title challenge he clearly won. Now he’s back for a second opportunity, which he earned with a hard-fought win over Arash Usmanee on the Pacquiao vs. Bradley 2 undercard in April.
The Mexican is a rugged challenger and isn’t afraid to take his game on the road and mix it up with the hometown fighter.
Beltran is better than his six career defeats would indicate and isn't going to Nebraska just for some pretty views of cornstalks. He’s coming to win, and Crawford will need to be on his game.
A win in this fight would solidify the champion’s credentials for boxing’s top yearly honor, but it’s not going to come easy.
Will It Be Repeat for Tyson Fury or Revenge for Dereck Chisora?
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Fury is big and brash, and you either love him or hate him. There’s not a whole lot of middle ground when it comes to the British heavyweight behemoth.
On Saturday night, Fury will meet old rival Dereck Chisora in a heavyweight return bout at ExCeL Arena in London.
A pair of European belts will be on the line as well as the more significant WBO No. 1 contender slot, which awards the winner a potential shot at undisputed champion Wladimir Klitschko.
Fury beat Chisora by convincing unanimous decision back in 2011, but injuries have limited his progress over the past two years. Chisora, on other hand, has won five straight fights since dropping four of five back in 2011-12 threatened his viability as a legitimate contender.
The two fighters have made no secret in the past about their dislike for one another, but after the rematch was postponed back in July—Chisora fractured his hand—the promotion has been a pretty tame affair. Fury had promised to not speak in public leading up to the fight, and Chisora has been pretty quiet himself of late, short of promising a knockout of his foe.
Maybe it’s because the stakes are so much higher this time or because both men have legitimately calmed down a bit, but this just doesn’t feel like a Fury-Chisora fight.
Hopefully their fists will do the talking and provide some fireworks on Saturday in London.
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