Manny Pacquiao scores six knockdowns to retain WBO welterweight title

Manny Pacquiao knocked down American challenger Chris Algieri six times to retain his WBO welterweight championship in Macau.

The first knockdown, in the second round, was a combination of a Pacquiao punch and Algieri slipping on the canvas but, in the sixth round, Algieri tumbled head over heels after a Pacquiao barrage and went down again in the same round from a right hook.

A fierce left cross in the ninth sent Algieri to his back. He beat the count, but dropped to his knees from a follow-up flurry and seemed on the verge of being stopped as Pacquiao unleashed a salvo of punches against the ropes.

Somehow the American survived that round and despite being knocked down by another left hand in the tenth, made it to the final bell.

Algieri (20-1, 9 KOs), who suffered his first defeat, earned the shot against Pacquiao by overcoming a swollen right eye and two knockdowns against Russia’s Ruslan Provodnikov in his previous outing, but he was never in this contest.

Although he circled constantly to his left and attempted to keep Pacquiao (57-5-2, 38 KOs) at a distance with his superior reach, he rarely landed any punches of note.

“It’s not just his hand speed,” Algieri said afterwards of Pacquaio. “He’s a great fighter. He does everything well. I was never hurt, but he did catch me with a big shot.”

Although Pacquiao sometimes struggled to hit Algieri cleanly because of his opponent’s backward motion, the punches he did land took their toll.

“I did my best,” said Pacquaio. “Algieri was fast-moving. I’m not surprised that he kept getting up, because that’s what he did against Ruslan Provodnikov.“

The win once more raised the prospect of a long-anticipated clash with undefeated American Floyd Mayweather, a fight Pacquiao said he welcomed.

“I want that fight,” he said. “The fans deserve that fight.”
theguardian.com