Saturday night will feature the last boxing pay per view of 2014 as Manny Pacquiao looks to defend his WBO Welterweight title against Long Island native Chris Algieri from Macau, China.
Macau has quickly become a favorite destination of Top Rank promotions as they have put on several cards there recently, but fight fans in China will have to wake up early in the morning to watch the fight so that fight fans in the United States can watch it in the evening.
Four fights will be televised on Saturday night, including two other title fights featuring Jessie Vargas and Vasyl Lomachenko. China’s favorite star Zou Shiming will also be featured in a WBO Flyweight eliminator.
Manny Pacquiao (56-5) vs. Chris Algieri (20-0); WBO Welterweight Title
Pacquiao’s upcoming bout with Chris Algieri doesn’t seem to be carrying as much hype as Pacquiao’s previous fights, and that’s mainly due to the perception by many that Algieri is a greatly overmatched opponent.
Pacquaio has over twice the amount of professional fights as Algieri and has eighteen more knockouts than Algieri has fights. Pacquiao has also faced the best boxing has to offer since 2001 and has reigned as a world champion in eight different weight classes, while Algieri only been a world champion in one.
Pacquiao has also fought all over the world. He has fought in Las Vegas, Dallas, Manilla, Macao, Tennessee, Thailand, and even Japan. Saturday will be the first time Algieri has ever fought outside of the state of New York.
Algieri, however, holds several advantages over Pacquiao. He has not been in nearly as many wars and his body has not had to suffer the physical punishment of Pacquiao. He’s five years younger than Pacquiao, and Pacquiao has recently begun to show that he is aging inside the ring.
Most importantly, Algieri has a three-and-a-half-inch height advantage and a five-inch reach advantage over the Filipino southpaw.
Algieri does not have an amateur boxing pedigree that most world champions have, but he was an undefeated kickboxing champion and he was a world champion kickboxer before turning professional, a la Vitali Klitschko.
Algieri does not have the power to put fear in Pacquiao’s camp of a stunning stoppage such as the one he suffered against Juan Manuel Marquez. However, Algieri showed he can take a punch, as when he faced the hard hitting Ruslan Provodnikov, and he surprised many when he easily defeated Emmanuel Taylor, a boxer who later gave Adrien Broner a very tough fight.
If Algieri can box a smart fight, solve the movement of Pacquiao and stay sharp with his jab, he has a chance at winning this fight.
But, it’s a small chance, and he’ll be in fighting in front of judges that will most likely be favorable to Pacquiao.
Pacquiao showed a new wrinkle in his game when he defeated Timothy Bradley in April of this year by out-boxing Bradley and picking his attacks wisely. He showed that he can still out-manoeuver most boxers when he soundly defeated Brandon Rios in November of last year. His chin is still questionable since his knockout loss to Marquez, but Algieri does not have the power to stop Pacquiao.
Pacquiao should win on Saturday and win easily. But if he’s having difficulty with Algieri’s jab in the first few rounds, it could be a long night for the Filipino slugger.
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