Pacquiao vs. Algieri 2014: Last-Minute Predictions for Saturday's Fight Card
The long-awaited return of WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao to the ring is finally here. He's coming off a victory by unanimous decision against Timothy Bradley back in April and now must defend his title against Chris Algieri.
Before those two fighters take the ring, several undercard fights are sure to dazzle spectators. Featherweight champion Vasyl Lomachenko will look to successfully defend his title for the first time against Chonlatarn Piriyapinyo. Zou Shiming had plenty of success in the amateur ranks, but he'll look to improve his 5-0 professional record against Kwanpichit Onesongchaigym. Jesse Vargas will put his WBA light welterweight title on the line against former WBC lightweight champion Antonio DeMarco.
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Before the night's main event kicks off, let's first take a look at predictions for the entire fight card, followed by a preview and prediction for the highly anticipated bout between Pacquiao and Algieri.
| Chris Algieri vs. Manny Pacquiao | Manny Pacquiao |
| Kwanpichit OnesongchaiGym vs. Zou Shiming | Zou Shiming |
| Vasyl Lomachenko vs. Chonlatarn Piriyapinyo | Vasyl Lomachenko |
| Antonio DeMarco vs. Jessie Vargas | Jessie Vargas |
| Fadhili Majiha vs. Jerwin Ancajas | Jerwin Ancajas |
| Espinos Sabu vs. Rex Tso | Espinos Sabu |
| Stephen Attard vs. Kuok Kun Ng | Stephen Attard |
| Andrew Robinson vs. Qu Peng | Andrew Robinson |
Fight card courtesy of TopRank.com.
Pacquiao vs. Algieri Preview and Prediction
Things didn't exactly get off to a good start for Algieri on Friday, as he initially failed to make the required 144-pound weight for the fight, coming in at 144.2 pounds. He was given a two-hour window to make weight, and it didn't take him long. Just 40 minutes later, he came back weighing 143.6 pounds.
He had this to say during a press conference, via Martin Rogers of USA Today: "I wanted to be close to the limit, and I would rather eat and feel good than be all sucked up and drained. But it is strange because I weighed in on the limit on the same set of scales in the hotel. Maybe the scales were affected when they were brought over to the arena."
USA Today Sports tweeted the update:
It's easy to see why Algieri wanted to stay as close to the weight limit as he could. Against Pacquiao, he'll have to stay defensive in the early potion of the fight, relying heavily on his elusive footwork while keeping his chin out of the champion's reach.
Pacquiao should be expected to show some aggression early on, and Algieri will want to avoid a similar start to his last fight against Ruslan Provodnikov in June. During the first round of that fight, Algieri was knocked down twice and was rather battered after a short time in the ring.
Remaining on the outskirts of Pacquiao's range, Algieri has an advantage. He stands at 5'10" with a 72-inch reach. That's quite a sizable margin over the 5'6.5" Pacquiao, who has a 67-inch reach. Algieri has a great jab, and he'll need to be accurate when dealing with his fleet-of-foot opponent.
Trainer Freddie Roach spoke of his fighter's speed and gave a very interesting prediction during an interview with BoxingNews24.com. "Algieri thinks he is going to be the faster guy in there—he is going to be overwhelmed by Manny's speed," Roach said. "You can't judge Manny's speed by watching him on TV. Once he gets in the ring, he'll be shocked. That's why this guy isn't going to last more than three rounds."
Pacquiao will have to work his way well inside Algieri's reach to score points Saturday night. He hasn't faced an opponent with quite as long of a reach since he fought Shane Mosley in 2011. It wasn't an issue then for the champion, who won that bout by unanimous decision.
He may not have trouble this time around either. According to a tweet from Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times, cut man Miguel Diaz sure thinks the champion is in top form:
This fight may boil down to which fighter has the endurance to last through the full 12 rounds. The advantage here goes to Pacquiao. Algieri doesn't have the power to end this fight early, so we should expect this to come down to a decision. Only once in his career has Algieri gone a full 12 rounds, which makes him inexperienced in this scenario.
Fighting outside of New York for the first time won't help matters either, as he'll be even further out of his comfort zone. While Pacquiao hasn't recorded any kind of a knockout since 2009, he's gone the distance many, many times before.
Prediction: Pacquiao by unanimous decision
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