Sport review 26.11.14

 

After Manny Pacquiao Wins Again, Talk Turns to a Possible Foe

MACAU — It was shortly after 4:30 p.m. local time when Manny Pacquiao entered his suite atop the north tower of the Venetian Macao. Approximately 100 people were there, waiting almost three hours after his fight to congratulate him on his unanimous decision victory over Chris Algieri.

Pacquiao (57-5-2, 38 knockouts) dominated the contest from the opening bell. He consistently landed power shots, particularly with his left hand, and knocked down the overmatched Algieri six times to retain his World Boxing Organization welterweight championship.

Perhaps the only disappointment for Pacquiao, 35, was that he again failed to register a knockout, extending a five-year drought. Pacquiao cited Algieri’s toughness as the reason he was unable to finish the bout early.

„I did my best, you know?” Pacquiao said. „I knocked him down many times, six times, and he still keep on fighting. So he’s a tough boxer.”
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Algieri (20-1, eight knockouts), who displayed extreme confidence throughout the week, appeared crestfallen during the postfight news conference.

„This is not exactly how I expected to be up here,” Algieri, a native of Huntington, N.Y., said. „I expected to be 21-0 at this point. Very disappointed. But this is boxing. Manny Pacquiao is a great champion.”

Naturally, it was not long before the talk shifted to the possibility of a meeting between Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. Bob Arum, the chief executive of Top Rank Boxing, which promotes Pacquiao, said earlier in the week that he was close to striking a deal for the long-awaited matchup.

Pacquiao left no doubt as to his preference in the matter.

„The fans really deserve that fight,” he said.

Arum expressed frustration over the parties’ inability to reach an agreement.

„Speaking for Manny, for myself, we’re tired,” Arum said. „Every place we go, they ask us: ‘When is it going to happen? When is that fight going to be made?’ ”

He added: „Enough is enough. Let’s just make the fight happen. Let’s just get it done. And let’s get it done the next fight for each fighter.”

But with the victory over Algieri only a few hours old, Pacquiao was only going to dwell on the impasse with Mayweather so much. He joined the celebration in his suite, posing for photographs and signing autographs before his security detail escorted him to his bedroom for a bit of quiet time.

Other than a brief emergence for an interview with a television outlet from the Philippines, Pacquiao spent the next five and a half hours locked in his bedroom. A few of those closest to the boxer gained entrance, but the rest of those gathered to see Pacquiao were held outside.

Much of the crowd in the suite included people Pacquiao did not know. People like Ken Villaver, a boxing fan from Sydney. Villaver identified himself as an acquaintance of Justin Fortune, Pacquiao’s strength and conditioning coach, which earned him access to the suite.

Villaver was waiting for an opportunity to have his photograph taken with Pacquiao. He expressed amazement at the number of people there and the fact that an outsider like him could get so close.
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„I’ve heard all the stories about Manny’s entourage, and how big it is,” Villaver said. „I can’t say I’m overly surprised, but man, it’s big.”

Also present at the postfight celebration were members of the Philippine Basketball Association team Kia Sorento, for whom Pacquiao is the head coach and a part-time player. The team won its first game of the season, in which Pacquiao participated, but has since lost six straight. Several players and coaches expressed gratitude that Pacquiao was scheduled to return for the team’s next game, Wednesday night.

„That’s why we haven’t won!” the assistant coach Chris Gavina said, jokingly.

There was plenty of time for such talk as hours passed with no hint of an appearance from Pacquiao. Just before 8 p.m., the trainer Freddie Roach and several of Pacquiao’s sparring partners were granted access to the fighter’s bedroom. A Bible study session commenced in the living room of the suite, with Pacquiao and a few of his V.I.P.s still tucked away.

About 10 p.m., Pacquiao, dressed in a white T-shirt and blue sweatpants, emerged to join the gathering. He took the microphone that had been set up at the front of the room, looked around at the 100 or so people congregated around him, and began to preach.

„I have no doubt, when I walk in the ring to fight, I’m 100 percent confident, because I am in the hands of God,” he said.

Throughout Pacquiao’s 20-minute sermon, keyboard music played softly in the background, and there were bursts of applause at regular intervals. He spoke in a mixture of English and his native Tagalog. His soliloquy was uninterrupted; his audience rapt.

At this moment, Mayweather, and boxing, seemed to be an afterthought. This was a solemn occasion, and Pacquiao was not going to trivialize it by invoking matters of sport. Still, those who were focused on such things could seize upon one line at the end of his sermon, and cite it as a reason for optimism.

„All things are possible,” he said.

And then he led the crowd in song.

 

 

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