Manny Pacquiao Fight: Scorecard, Recap from Dominant Win over Chris Algieri

For 12 rounds of a welterweight bout against Chris Algieri at the Cotai Arena in Macau, China, Manny Pacquiao made boxing look easy. 

Pacquiao (57-5-2) sent Algieri (20-1-0) to the mat six times in a decisive victory by unanimous decision that ended up with one of the more lopsided scorecards one will see in a pay-per-view main event. HBO Boxing has the judges' results:

SportsCenter provided Pacquiao's take on his own performance after the bout:

The 35-year-old Filipino is already a legendary figure in boxing—a speedy, aggressive brawler in his heyday whose has refined his technique in his later years even as his star has waned. 

Algieri, hailing from Huntington, New York, and working his first boxing match outside of his home state, was clearly out of his depth. He appeared confident and energetic early on. It wasn't the huge crowd, the bright lights or the big moment that got to him. It was the incredible speed of the man in front of him.

Early on in the fight, Pacquiao established a pattern. He would wait out Algieri's probing jabs, look for his opponent's feet to settle and then move forward in quick bursts and send in combinations aimed at both Algieri's midsection and head. 

This would prove to be highly effective throughout the match, as Algieri was reluctant to stand and trade in the middle of the ring. He preferred to dance, bob and weave around Pacquiao's punches and occasionally follow up his jab with a right cross.

Pacquiao scored his first knockdown midway through the second round, catching Algieri with a solid right and forcing him to back up quickly. Algieri fell to his knees but immediately sprang to his feet. The referee began a standing count and Algieri looked upset, perhaps thinking the fall would be scored a slip.

HBO Boxing provided a look at the early knockdown:

Pacquiao cruised through the next three rounds, establishing a staccato rhythm of darting punches that took a toll on Algieri, who was unable to counter with his right for much of the bout.

HBO Boxing noted that Algieri was well off his usual punching pace roughly midway through the match: 

The sixth round transformed the match from a merely one-sided display into a full-on rout. Pacquiao knocked Algieri down twice in the round; the first was a delightful straight that caught Algieri flush on the chin and sent him falling backward.

Algieri would hit the canvas just a few seconds later, taking a glancing blow to the skull as he tried desperately to move out of the way of Pacquiao's punches.

Kin Cheung/Associated Press

This one wasn't quite as convincing as the round's first knockdown, and although Pacquiao could smell blood in the water and Algieri appeared dazed, the fight carried on. Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times noted how Pacquiao was stalking his fading opponent:

Algieri, much to his credit, weathered every storm and braved nearly every attack, although a few feints from Pacquiao had Algieri ducking air, drawing jeers from the crowd. The former kickboxer occasionally traded punches with Pacquiao and put on a decent showing in the seventh round, per HBO Boxing:

Nothing good came out of the ninth round for Algieri.

The 30-year-old challenger took a rare big swing with his right hand, which Pacquiao easily ducked and followed with a devastating left cross that rocked Algieri's skull and put him flat on his back. The Ring Magazine's Ryan Songalia was impressed by the punch:

Algieri would somehow pop back up but take another quick trip to the canvas later in the round. Wave after wave of Pacquiao offense came over the top of Algieri's jab, which had all the life of a piece of driftwood among the now ceaseless spray of hits.

Pacquiao, several inches shorter than Algieri and with a five-inch disadvantage in the reach department, was devouring his opponent.

Kin Cheung/Associated Press

Algieri would hit the canvas in the 10th and again in the 12th. The knockdown in the 10th was morbidly funny. Boxing journalist Steve Kim relayed the fateful words of Tim Lane, Algieri's trainer:

With little knockout power to speak of for Algieri, the match was already a foregone conclusion at this late stage. Only a miracle shot could have saved the challenger—a shot that would never come.

Pacquiao needed this win in order to stay relevant in the world of boxing. The 2012 knockout loss to Juan Manuel Marquez had dimmed his aura a bit. Losing to a relative unknown like Algieri would have been a disaster for the rest of career.

He's back in the ascendancy after winning three straight fights and could very well end up taking on Floyd Mayweather Jr. in the future. He stated after Saturday's fight that he wanted the match, per Songalia:

Freddie Roach, Pacquiao's esteemed trainer, gave a cryptic hint for this yet-to-materialize contest.

"I'm watching tape again," he said, smiling, according to Yahoo Sports' Kevin Iole.

It's all just talk. The fans have been through this before, so there's no sense anticipating the bout until both parties have something physical and concrete to show the world. Mayweather can make boxing look easy at times, albeit in a vastly different way than Pacquiao. It's time for both fighters to begin the end of their careers the hard way and box each other.