Filipino icon Manny Pacquiao will make his return to the ring on
November 22 at the Venetian Resort in the gambling mecca of Macau, per
Greg Logan of Newsday, defending his WBO Welterweight Championship
against newly minted 140-pound champion Chris Algieri.
Main Event: Manny Pacquiao vs. Chris Algieri; 12 rounds for Pacquiao's WBO Welterweight Championship
Where: Cotai Arena at the Venetian Resort in Macau, China
When: November 22, 2014
TV: HBO pay-per-view
Where: Cotai Arena at the Venetian Resort in Macau, China
When: November 22, 2014
TV: HBO pay-per-view
Pacquiao enters the contest on a two-fight winning streak, having righted an old wrong by toppling Timothy Bradley to regain a welterweight title in April. The fight was a bit of a bust at the box office, and it led to an epic feud between the MGM Grand—which hosted the contest—and Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum.
Sagging pay-per-view numbers and lingering bad feelings with the MGM are likely why this fight is headed to Macau, a locale known for its favorable tax rates that allow it to compensate for drops in PPV sales.
Algieri, an undefeated but until recently largely unknown Huntington, New York, native, earned this fight by taking down Team Pacquiao’s likely first choice for the bout, former junior welterweight champion Ruslan Provodnikov, in June.
The 30-year-old showed tremendous grit and heart, fighting back from two early knockdowns and a grotesquely swollen eye to outbox Provodnikov and wrest his title. More importantly, that fight earned him the opportunity of the lifetime against one of boxing’s biggest superstars.
Here we examine the fight and the fighters. This is your complete head-to-toe breakdown of Pacquiao vs. Algieri for the WBO Welterweight Championship.
Pacquiao has bounced back from a stunning knockout loss to Juan Manuel Marquez with back-to-back quality wins. He took nearly a year off from action and then returned last November to batter the rugged Brandon Rios over 12 one-sided rounds for an easy victory.
He followed that up by scoring a measure of revenge against Bradley—who had taken a ludicrous decision from him 18 months prior—coming on in the second half of the fight to secure a clear decision win and a share of the welterweight crown.
Pacquiao’s rematch with Bradley was a commercial disappointment, failing to top the first fight in PPV buys and forcing the Filipino’s team to look toward other markets. This will be Pac-Man’s second fight in Macau—where the financial terms are more favorable than the United States—and it will be against an opponent whom most people hadn’t heard of even a month ago.
Algieri was a decorated amateur and professional kickboxing champion before turning to boxing full time in 2008. Fighting entirely in his home state of New York, he has compiled an undefeated professional record and currently holds the WBO 140-pound title.
He earned that belt, and this fight, by knocking off Provodnikov at the Barclays Center this past June in a pretty significant upset. The Siberian Rocky, known as an aggressive pressure fighter with huge punching power, entered the ring as a heavy favorite to retain his belt and move on to his own showdown with Pacquiao.
But Algieri used his length, reach and boxing ability to limit the slugger's offensive opportunities. He survived a pair of first-round knockdowns and a completely swollen-shut right eye to nip a narrow split decision. There was some debate about the verdict, but Algieri’s heart and determination are beyond question.
Pacquiao has lost a fair amount of the ferocity and buzzsaw-like attack that gained him international fame and a seat atop boxing’s pound-for-pound ranks, but he’s still a highly effective and dangerous boxer.
Gone are the days of a whirlwind rushing across the ring, throwing punches in bunches from every conceivable angle and forcing opponents to spend all their time playing defense.
Pacquiao showed in his rematch against Bradley that he’s still capable of outboxing a world-class opponent, and he really took it to him in the second half after weathering an early storm. He was able to land shots at will, and while it wasn’t the Pacquiao of old, it showed he still has plenty left in the tank.
Algieri has great length, reach and pure boxing skill. He will carry a pretty significant five-inch reach advantage into his contest with Pacquiao, and his jab is clearly his best punch.
He has tremendous head and foot movement, and he does a good job of controlling the distance of the fight.
Algieri showed against Provodnikov that he can keep a big puncher at bay with his movement and jab. He outlanded the Siberian slugger by a good amount, according to CompuBox, and that was his path to victory in a close, competitive fight.
Gone are the days of a whirlwind rushing across the ring, throwing punches in bunches from every conceivable angle and forcing opponents to spend all their time playing defense.
Pacquiao showed in his rematch against Bradley that he’s still capable of outboxing a world-class opponent, and he really took it to him in the second half after weathering an early storm. He was able to land shots at will, and while it wasn’t the Pacquiao of old, it showed he still has plenty left in the tank.
Algieri has great length, reach and pure boxing skill. He will carry a pretty significant five-inch reach advantage into his contest with Pacquiao, and his jab is clearly his best punch.
He has tremendous head and foot movement, and he does a good job of controlling the distance of the fight.
Algieri showed against Provodnikov that he can keep a big puncher at bay with his movement and jab. He outlanded the Siberian slugger by a good amount, according to CompuBox, and that was his path to victory in a close, competitive fight.
