Pacquiao vs. Algieri: Undercard Highlights, Scorecards and Purse Info
The Venetian Macao in Macau, China played host to one of the biggest fights of the year, as Manny Pacquiao (57-5-2) handily defeated New York native Chris Algieri (20-1-0) by unanimous decision on Saturday night to retain his WBO welterweight title.
Pacquiao knocked down Algieri six times in the contest, stunning his opponent repeatedly with vicious left crosses and right jabs. It was an awesome display from one of the sport's biggest stars and bodes well fo the Filipino legend to finish his career on his own terms.
It was also a very lucrative bout to be sure, with Pacquiao earning quite a bit more than his upstart competitor, who lost for the first time in his six-year boxing career.
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ESPN's Dan Rafael provided the numbers for Pacquiao and Algieri's fight purse:
The big bout wasn't the only compelling fight on Saturday evening, or Sunday morning for this in Macau. There were three bouts on the pay-per-view undercard, including a national hero in China, a welterweight looking for a knockout and a nascent Ukrainian pro that could be one of the future stars in the sport.
Here is a full recap of the undercard tilts.
Jessie Vargas def. Antonio DeMarco
Jessie Vargas (26-0-0) kicked off the pay-per-view undercard in style, defeating Antonio DeMarco (31-4-0) by unanimous decision to retain his WBA World light welterweight belt. HBO Boxing provided the scorecard results:
Coming into the fight, the big story surrounding Vargas was his quest to increase his punching power. He had just nine knockouts in 25 matches coming into Saturday night.
In his corner was the immortal Roy Jones Jr., who had been training him in preparation for this bout.
"I seen him fight the last two fights but both times he just squeaked by," Jones said prior to Saturday, via ESPN.com's Dan Rafael. "I was like, 'You didn't show no improvement so come by my gym and at least let me teach you how to [throw a left] hook."
Yahoo Sports' Kevin Iole gave Vargas the first three rounds, while boxing journalist Steve Kim noted Vargas was more comfortable fighting at this weight:
Vargas pressed his advantage in the middle rounds, landing strong left hooks to DeMarco's head while sneaking in powerful uppercuts to the solar plexus. Vargas' is known for working the body and didn't shy away from his tried-and-true methods on the night.
DeMarco, knowing that the fight was slipping away, came on strong during the final third of the match. He scored a number of impressive blows in the ninth round, including a straight left that staggered Vargas every so slightly and sent him back into the ropes. Top Rank Boxing was impressed by the display:
The Mexican challenger continued to pound away, but Vargas slipped in a few strong punches to DeMarco's torso in the 11th and kept him at bay. HBO Boxing relayed the analysis from commentator Jim Lampley:
Vargas did well to dance around the ring and hold off DeMarco in the final round to secure victory.
Vargas wasn't able to get a knockdown, but anyone could tell that his shots landed with much greater authority than they had in just about any of his previous fights. He was also able to open up a deep cut over DeMarco's left eye as visible proof of his increased power.
With this resounding display, it's quite possible Vargas will get a shot at Pacquiao or another top welterweight, although most fans will hope this doesn't get in the way of a potential blockbuster between Pac Man and Floyd Mayweather.
DeMarco will have to bounce back from yet another disappointing loss. Considering Saturday's result and previous losses to the likes of Adrien Broner and Edwin Valero, it's clear that DeMarco's ambitions reside just outside the scope of his abilities.
Vasyl Lomachenko def. Chonlatarn Piriyapinyo
Vasyl Lomachenko (3-1-0) proved his worth as an ascendant star in the world of boxing, dominating Chonlatarn Piriyapinyo (52-2-0) for 12 rounds to win by unanimous decision, a result that was truly never in doubt, even when Lomachenko fought one-handed for a couple of rounds.
HBO Boxing relayed the judges' scores:
Lomachenko, a southpaw, came out firing in the first round, landing several snapping left hooks and putting considerable pressure on his overmatched competitor. Compubox provided the stats from the first round, via HBO Boxing:
Top Rank's Crystina Poncher provided a ringside look at the mayhem:
Piriyapinyo had to resort to moving around the ring quickly to stay out of Lomachenko's range, but this strategy was more of a survival tactic than a potentially winning one. Lomachenko continued to hammer him with body shots in an attempt to slow him down, leading with rapid-fire right jabs followed by pendulous left hooks.
This trend continued through the fourth and the situation grew increasingly desperate for Piriyapinyo. He couldn't keep up with Lomachenko's quickness, and the Ukrainian sensation knocked his opponent down with a thundering uppercut toward the end of the round. Round by Round Boxing provided a look:
HBO Boxing noted this was a novel event for the experienced Thai fighter:
Give Piriyapinyo credit, he does appear to have a granite chin. For six rounds, all that seemed to do was give Lomachenko more time to pummel him and burnish his growing reputation.
In the seventh, however, Lomachenko's left hand appeared to have been dashed on the rock-like jaw of Piriyapinyo. he began to work the ring more and go exclusively with his right hand.
Ring Magazine's Ryan Songalia noted this didn't slow him down too much at first, as Lomachenko popped him with several strong jabs in the seventh and eighth rounds:
Lomachenko's left made a few cameos in the ninth round, but the attempts were slow and lacked power. Still, his best with one hand was better than anything Piriyapinyo could muster on the evening.
The 29-year-old from Chonburi managed to survive to the end of the fight, a feat that should prove to be difficult to achieve for Lomachenko's future opponents. Commentator Max Kellerman was in awe of the Ukranian, via HBO Boxing:
Lomachenko's lack of experience as a professional shouldn't fool anyone; it's only the tip of the iceberg. The 26-year-old amassed a 396-1 record as an amateur pugilist, per BoxRec.com. He is an ascendant pro with elite speed and power for his weight class. This fight proved that he also has the intelligence and bravery to work through obvious disadvantages and perform well.
Zou Shiming def. Kwanpichit Onesongchaigym
Zou Shiming (6-1-0), China's great boxing hope, decimated his overmatched opponent, Kwanpichit Onesongchaigym (27-1-2) in a flyweight bout that was never in doubt.
HBO Boxing has the scores:
Shiming was all over his opponent from the opening bell. He was aggressive right from the start, eager to put on a big show for the home crowd. His furious combinations sent Onesongchaigym to the mat in the first round, drawing the biggest cheers of the night so far from the Macau crowd.
Shiming again sent shockwaves through Onesongchaigym's body in the second round with a strong right hook that sent the diminutive Pacquiao-look alike sprawling to the canvas.
Newsday's Greg Logan felt the referee had cause to stop the fight, such was the one-sided destruction at hand:
The disparity in power shots was staggering after just two rounds of action, per HBO Boxing:
Miraculously, Onesongchaigym got up and continued on into the third round, but the fight was already a foregone conclusion. Shiming was playing the part of national hero to perfection, trouncing his opponent and dazzling the crowd with epically quick combinations.
TSN's Cabbie Richards likened Shiming's style to that of Jones Jr.:
Indeed, Shiming threw some showmanship into the bout, dancing around the ring, taunting his opponent with his hands down and of course, dominating the bout.
Onesongchaigym tried to slow down the fight and space out the exchanges with Shiming, but his strategy was to no avail. He fought bravely, but was simply overmatched in this one. Songalia felt he had little show for himself after four rounds:
Considering Onesongchaigym held on so long, some might question Shiming's overall power. His punches were clean and effective throughout the bout, but his inability to finish off his opponent after two first round knockouts.
Onesongchaigym soldiered on, at one point getting reprimanded by the referee and having points deducted for a low blow, and hit the canvas again in the sixth round, per HBO Boxing:
An accidental clash of heads opened up a large cut over Shiming's left eye in the final third of the fight, allowing Onesongchaigym a chance to throw some home-run blows against his visually impaired opponent. Shiming avoided the vast majority of these blows and would do well to move the fight to the center of the ring and trade combinations with his outclassed opponent.
Shiming never gave up the hands-down routine, baiting Onesongchaigym to come forward time after time and then throwing a quick jab or straight to reset the charade and start moving again. Shiming would score one final knockdown in the 12th to cap off an impressive showing.
The result wasn't in doubt with the knockdown and point deductions, and Shiming's ability to box two matches, one for him and one for the crowd, might turn out to be just what Chinese boxing promoters were looking for in the former amateur star.
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