Pacquiao vs. Algieri: Results and Next Step for Each Fighter
Manny Pacquiao made an announcement to the boxing world Saturday night against Chris Algieri—he’s back.
The southpaw annihilated Algieri by unanimous decision 120-102, 119-103 and 119-103, registering six knockdowns along the way. It was a completely one-sided fight, much to the delight of many in the sold-out crowd, and Pac-Man looked like his old self throughout the proceedings.
SportsCenter highlighted the incredible discrepancy in terms of the number of punches thrown:
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Pacquiao unleashed a clinic in speed, footwork, precision with his punches and relentlessness. He never stopped attacking. It was vintage Pacquiao from the start and should have fans excited for what may be on the horizon.
To Algieri’s credit, he lasted all 12 rounds and did not succumb to the early knockdowns and momentum.
That meant Pac-Man’s streak of no knockouts since 2009 remained intact, even though he did everything short of actually knocking Algieri out Saturday. After all, six knockdowns is certainly noteworthy, with or without an actual knockout.
Unfortunately for Algieri, that may have been his best chance to make a name for himself in the sport of boxing.
It was the first loss of his career. While 20 wins in a row is certainly an impressive way to start, Pacquiao was the first marquee name Algieri faced. The win over Ruslan Provodnikov turned some heads, but Provodnikov doesn’t move the needle for the casual boxing fan the way a victory over Pacquiao would have Saturday.
The nature of Pacquiao’s dominating win virtually eliminated any chance of a rematch as well for Algieri, so he may have to wait for another potential match with Provodnikov if Provodnikov can beat Jose Luis Castillo.
Algieri is only 30 years old and is sure to win plenty more fights in the future, but he missed his greatest chance to be a headlining name for pay-per-view sales when he lost against Pacquiao. He will likely be another challenger who puts together a solid career outside of the upper echelon of names like Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, and there is certainly nothing wrong with that.
Of more immediate interest is what the next step is for Pacquiao.
The only natural answer to that question is the much-anticipated showdown with Mayweather, but boxing fans have been hearing that same tune for years. However, this time Pacquiao did not hesitate to bring it up in the aftermath of his win, via George Willis of the New York Post: “I think it’s time to make that fight happen. The fans really deserve that fight. It’s time to say, yes, so people can prepare for early next year.”
The career legacies of both Pacquiao and Mayweather will always have an asterisk beside them if they do not fight each other, and perhaps Pac-Man’s public pleading for the fight will force Mayweather to finally acquiesce.
The fact that Pacquiao looked like his old self Saturday helps his cause as well because there will be plenty of hype surrounding the two perceived best boxers in the world.
Mayweather is 37 years old, and Pacquiao is nearly 36. They will not both be in peak athletic shape for that much longer, so if this fight is going to happen, it will likely happen sooner rather than later. Whether that means 2015 or not remains to be seen, but there just aren’t any more top-notch competitors for either to fight and generate the type of buzz necessary for massive pay-per-view sales.
Mayweather and Pacquiao need each other. The sport of boxing needs the fight.
Let’s make it happen.
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