Posts tagged: Boxing

This Saturday boxing is back on PPV with probably the second biggest fighter in the game right now with Manny Pacquiao. I know a lot of people believe this fight is going to be a blow out and on top of that a lot of people believe that Chris Algieri doesn’t deserve this fight but I have to admit I think this fight will be a lot closer than anybody is expecting. In the past Manny’s had an easy path against the last few fighters he’s taken on. Rios pretty much was a come forward punching bag, Clottey didn’t fight back at all, and Margarito was already finished before he got in the ring. I have yet to see Manny take on a challenger who seems to be as active as Chris Algieri.  Algieri has shown in his last two fights that he can take some decent shots and still get around the ring. Now don’t get me wrong, I do think that in Algieri’s fight that Ruslan was very one dimensional and was head hunting for the majority of the fight and could of possibly slowed Algieri down if he would of went to the body more. I’m pretty sure Manny won’t make the same mistakes as Ruslan.  I do think that with Algieri he’s shown that he can keep his distance, use the jab, and is capable of making adjustments which is something I can’t say about Manny’s last opponents (other than maybe Bradley & Marquez) have yet to try.
For the ones who aren’t familiar with Algieri this just a sample of what he did in his last fight.
http://youtu.be/mwnsQxGFFsk
 
 
While Algieri does pride himself on his intelligence Manny has years of his experience in the ring to where I think that will cancel out. Manny’s not your typical boxer and has a much higher boxing IQ than Ruslan and at the same time won’t fall into the same traps as Ruslan. Even with all that being said I still think that Algieri can pull off the upset. The only way he would be able to do this is by controlling the rounds by active movement, landing the jabs, and not letting Manny initiate all of the offense.  If he can keep his distance with the jab and frustrate Manny I think he could pull of the upset. While I do think that Manny spars with the best I don’t know how ready he is for a guy with Algieri’s skill set. He’s coming into the fight very confident (maybe too confident) and seems well prepared. If Algieri can win he could change the landscape of all of boxing. I have a hard time going against Manny due to the experience, strength, etc. but I do think that Algieri carries the right components that could pull off the decision victory.
Prediction: Algieri by decision.