Manny Pacquiao’s shutout victory over Chris Algieri in Macau was the most one-sided 12 round affairs we’ve seen in years. Although several of the knockdowns should have been ruled as slips, Pac absolutely dominated his opponent throughout the fight, badly hurting Algieri several times. Does this mean the “old” Pacman is back, or was it all smoke and mirrors? Other than a handsome payday, what can be taken from this experience for team Algieri? What lies ahead for both fighters next year? And how does Pacquiao’s 2014 compare to that of Floyd “Money” Mayweather?
For Chris Algieri, there were indeed positives to take away from his first professional loss. Against Pacquiao he displayed the same heart, resilience and toughness that he showed against Ruslan Provodnikov in June. There was solid footwork for the most part, as well as a few nicely timed right hands that caught Manny as he lunged in. But the inexperience of Algieri and his team was obvious throughout; from coming in heavy on the scales at the weigh in, to the strategy of the fight itself. The game plan of starting with “four first rounds” was all wrong; Algieri averaged just 5 punches landed in those first four rounds. There was no “Plan B”. No adjustments were made. His corner gave the wrong advice between just about every round. On top of all that, the New York native was stripped of his WBO 140 pound title that same day for absolutely no reason (but since when do sanctioning bodies do anything logical, right?)
