The Filipino fighting machine Manny Pacquiao returned to Macau’s Cotai Arena to retain his WBO Welterweight title after defeating American Chris Algieri in 12 rounds yesterday. It was almost two years to the day since Pac-Man’s 12-round victory against American Brandon Rios at the same venue and, despite failing to score his first KO since 2009, the man from Sarangani did not disappoint the thousands of fans cheering him on.
He knocked his previously undefeated opponent to the ground on six occasions before winning by unanimous decision, with the judges scoring the bout – dubbed “the Clash in Cotai II” – 120-102, 119-103 and 119-103. “Our focus was to try to finish the fight early but we knew Algieri was a very tough opponent. I did my best [for the KO] but I knocked him down six times and he still kept on fighting,” said a satisfied Pacquiao after the fight.
With the card kicking off at 8am to accommodate the US audience, the Venetian had a somewhat surreal feeling to it on Sunday morning, as the booze flowed freely from the off. But the arena was no more than half full as the undercards took centre stage early on, with New Zealander Andrew Robinson defeating China’s Qu Peng, Hong Kong’s own Rex “The Wonder Kid” Tso seeing off Indonesia’s Espinos Sabu and local boy Ng “The Macau Kid” Kuok Kun beating Stephen Attard of Australia in relatively uninspiring contests that were all decided by unanimous decisions.
However, one enthusiastic Algieri supporter did his best to provide some pantomime, with his intermittent chants of “Algieri, Algieri” being roundly met with loud choruses of boos from the Pacquiao fans around him. That said, the decidedly squiffy fan drew some laughs when he yelled that he was “more impressed with the [scantily clad] ring girl than with the [early] fight”. He might have had had a point.
The atmosphere began to build as the morning drew on, although the biggest cheers were still reserved for when the big screens flashed footage of the congressman as he warmed up backstage for his title defence. There was also huge excitement as special guests Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger were introduced to the Filipino in his locker room.
By the time the pay-per-view started stateside, the arena was almost full to its 15,000 capacity. Jessie Vargas of the US defeated Mexico’s Antonio DeMarco in 12 rounds to retain his WBA Super Lightweight title, Vasyl Lomachenko of Ukraine retained his WBO Featherweight title with a 12-round victory over Thailand’s Chonlatarn Piriyapinyo, and China’s Zou Shiming also scored a 12-round win after a gruelling bout with Kwanpichit Onesongchaigym.
After six long fights without a single KO, it was finally time for the main event. Thirty-year-old Algieri, who was competing in his first-ever fight outside the US, must have felt a long way from home as hostile boos rang out on his entrance to the ring. This misery was likely compounded when the crowd nearly raised the roof as a smiling Pac-Man slowly made his way down to Queen’s We Will Rock You.
Pacquiao, 35, was on the front foot from the first bell, landing several powerful jabs as an excitable crowd continued their chants of “Manny, Manny”. The Mexicutioner then scored his first knock down in the second round (although Algieri later claimed it was a slip).
Into the third round and Manny’s speed was nothing short of electrifying, with Algieri taking a pounding and the crowd demanding the KO. A heavy uppercut in the fourth appeared to put the American in further trouble, but yet again he was saved by the bell. It now seemed like damage limitation for the beleaguered New Yorker, who drew more boos when he put his opponent in a headlock in the fifth round – not a good idea when you’re struggling for fans as it is.
Algieiri was down again in the sixth round as Pacquiao really went for the jugular, but the Filipino still couldn’t score the KO he’s been waiting for since defeating the UK’s Ricky Hatton in 2009. Round seven was less eventful, but a big left hook caught Algieri in the eighth and the American looked done for.
The big screens then shot to footage of Pacquiao’s mother down on her knees praying as she willed her son on, and it seemed she was almost instantly answered in the ninth round when a huge left hook flattened Algieri, who now looked completely broken. However, once again he beat the referee’s count and survived.
Manny scored one final knock down in the 10th round, but appeared happy to settle for the points victory rather than risk an unjustified defeat as the fight drew to a close. There was no doubting the winner as the final bell sounded, after which the talk turned predictably to the possibility of a Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather encounter next year.
In reference to his Foot Locker advert, which mocks Mayweather’s apparent unwillingness to fight him, the Filipino asked, “Is he gonna fight me, is he gonna fight me?” when questioned about the bout shortly after the victory was announced.
The Pacquiao camp clearly wants the fight, with promoter Bob Arum saying, “If boxing is to be considered a major sport, the fight has to happen and all the nonsense has to cease as there are no excuses anymore. I’ll be at the phone, Manny will be at his phone. We’re ready.”
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