By Ian S Palmer
The biggest bout this weekend is undoubtedly the Manny Pacquiao (56-5-2, 38 Kos) vs Chris Algieri (20-0, 8 Kos) showdown on Saturday, November 22. The 12-rounder is Pacquiao’s WBO Welterweight Championship and will be taking place at the Venetian Resort in Macau, China. The fight card will be broadcast live in North America o HBO pay-per-view and can be seen in Britain on BoxNation. Algieri is the current WBO Junior Welterweight titleholder.
The 35-year-old Pacquiao of the Philippines enters the fight as the betting favourite, but the 30-year-old American is actually going to prove to be a difficult opponent for him. This is seen by many as a no-win situation for Pacquiao since he’s expected to handle Algieri, but if he loses, it’s going to seriously derail what’s left of his career. Pacquiao, a southpaw, definitely can’t take Algieri lightly even though his opponent enters the ring with hardly any power on his punches.
Pacquiao can’t afford to leave himself open for solid power shots to the chin since he’s been on the deck before and against Juan Manuel Marquez he didn’t get up. Algieri has some excellent boxing skills as well as an age advantage and a reach advantage of 3.5 inches. He’s also unbeaten and pulled off a huge upset earlier this year when he beat Ruslan Provodnikov by a split decision to win the WBO Junior Welterweight title. However, Algieri showed that his chin is also suspect as he was dropped twice early in the fight.
Algieri showed a lot of determination in the contest though and cape back to take a close decision. Of course Pacquiao has some fine boxing skills as well and beat Timothy Bradley by a rather comfortable decision in their rematch earlier this year. Pacquiao also has quite a bit more power than the challenger, but hasn’t recorded a stoppage victory since back in 2009 when he knocked out Miguel Cotto. Pac Man will need to utilize his footwork and speed in this fight and also has to have enough power in his punches to keep Algieri from wading in. Pacquiao needs to throw punches in flurries off of the jab rather than throwing just one shot at a time.
Algieri will be trying to utilize his height and five-inch reach advantage and establish his jab. He needs to keep Pacquiao at a distance and nail him when he moves within range. However, if he doesn’t have any power on his punches it’s going to be hard to keep Pacquiao at bay, especially since Algieri’s moving up to the welterweight division for this scrap. Pacquiao should throw shots from numerous angles and keep his hands moving at all times to keep the challenger off balance and from getting into a jabbing rhythm. The champ should also jump on Algieri as early as possible since he’s a bit of a slow starter.
Prediction
Pacquiao has to dart in and out while throwing punches to rack up the points. He will go for a KO if he senses Algieri’s in trouble, but will probably stick to boxing to begin with. Algieri doesn’t like to fight on the inside and can’t afford to simply take potshots at Pacquiao as he moves in. Pacquiao should make sure he attacks the body and has to watch out for Algieri’s straight right hand. This fight could be a lot closer than the odds suggest and the key here is for Pacquiao to make sure he doesn’t allow Algieri to grow in confidence as the fight progresses. If he gains momentum and gets on a roll an Algieri win or a draw wouldn’t really be a huge surprise due to his boxing skills and determination. However, the experienced Pacquiao should be able to use his athleticism and speed to retain the title via a close decision or late stoppage.
