Manny Pacquiao Still Has the Skills to Cause Big Problems for Floyd Mayweather
Just minutes after Manny “Pac-Man” Pacquiao was confirmed as a dominant victor over Chris “King of New York” Algieri, talk turned to a potential superfight with Floyd “Money” Mayweather.
On the evidence of the Filipino’s latest victory, Manny still has the requisite skills to cause problems for the American pound-for-pound king.
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The 35-year-old put in an exemplary display to get the better of Algieri. The WBO welterweight champion floored his opponent six times en route to a unanimous points decision, and it was a display brimming with patented Pacquaio swagger.
Pacquiao wasted no time in teasing the prospect of a bout with Mayweather either. “I want that fight”, he said, per Reuters (h/t The Guardian). “The fans deserve that fight”.
Dan Rafael of ESPN thinks the post-match comments from Manny were especially intriguing:
The fans certainly want that fight, and although neither boxer is quite as sharp as they were a few years ago, there was enough in this display from Pacquiao to suggest that he has the armoury to give Mayweather as tough a scrap as he’s ever encountered in his professional career.
Myriad obstacles have prevented this spectacle from taking place in the past, ranging from issues over drug testing and the fighters’ different promoting brands.
But according to Skip Bayless of ESPN, this fight won’t happen because Mayweather doesn’t want it to:
While it’d be scaremongering to brand Money as a coward, it’s difficult to argue with Bayless’s notion that Pacquiao could hurt Mayweather and maybe even beat the American icon. Those qualities were on show in abundance as Pac-Man clinically dismantled Algieri in front of a purring crowd in Macau, China.
Algieri may have been fighting at this level for the very first time, but he was considered to be a dangerous and skilful opponent for Pacquiao. However, Pac-Man gave him no time to settle in the fight, pressuring him from the off with his irrepressible work rate and unerring punching accuracy.
Pacquiao was dynamic, intelligent and enthralling in his early work, as he bossed the early stages of the fight.
Algieri was diligent and durable, but when the American did let his guard down, Manny was clinical. He knocked the challenger to the floor once in the second round, and after keeping the pressure on, a further two times in Round 6, as noted here by SportsCenter:
The Filipino went on to secure three further knockdowns in the fight, and the lopsided scorecards were a fair measure of his dominance throughout the 12 rounds.
While Algieri is certainly not of the same calibre as Mayweather, Pacquaio showcased enough here to suggest that if the two giants of the division were to go head-to-head, it’d be a fight well worth watching.
Bleacher Report’s Lyle Fitzsimmons explored the possibility of the bout being staged:
Mayweather is a defensive master and supreme technician. Throughout his career, he’s been able to notch vital victories against vibrant opponents by nullifying their skills and grinding them down.
These vanquished foes include the likes of Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton, but of all the illustrious names he’s faced, none quite measure up to Manny.
Indeed, ESPN’s Rafael drew an intriguing comparison between the two in the post-fight discussions:
Pacquaio is the only man on the planet who looks to have the skills to put an end to Mayweather’s undefeated run.
Both men may be a little past their best, and boxing supporters from across the globe will be frustrated by the continued reluctance from both parties to make the fight happen. But like Pacquaio said, at this stage in their respective careers, it quite simply has to happen, doesn’t it?
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