PACQUIAO HAD AN EXCELLENT 2014
By Eddie Alinea
PhilBoxing.com
Fri, 02 Jan 2015
A pair of victories this year completed Filipino ring hero Manny Pacquiao's two-year climb from near career-ending setbacks two years ago that saw him lose his World Boxing welterweight crown besides suffering an embarrassing sixth round knockout to Mexican arch-enemy Juan Manuel Marquez.
Pacquiao, who turned 36 last December 17, beat convincingly American Timothy Bradley, the man who took away his 147-pound belt in a controversy-laden showdown January 9, 2012, last April in Las Vegas to win back the title robbed from him.
He then defended the same title seven months later against with a similarly lopsided unanimous decision win over another erstwhile unbeaten American, Chris Algieri, who at that time was the WBO junior-welterweight titleholder, also in Macau.
The father of five with Sarangani Vice Gov. Jinkee actually started his long, amazing comeback with a decision triumph at the expense of Brandon Rios also in the Chinese gambling city November 2013.
That string of three consecutive successes catapulted the Sarangani Congressman back to the list of elite fighters not only in his division but in the entire boxing profession on his way to reclaiming the honor as the best-pound-for-pound ring warrior deprived him by that twin losses in 2012, including the sixth round KO to Juan Manuel Marquez.
In winning back his title at a time when he was considered as over the hill by experts, the Pacman himself declared his journey to recapturing the status he used to enjoy will continue.
And the Pambansang Kamao proved it last November by pulverizing Algieri, who along with his handlers in pre-fights statements vowed to knock him out and retire him completely.
Pacquiao forced his challenger to kiss the canvas a record six times, the most number in recent memory, that produced the most lopsided scores submitted by the three judges ? 120-102, 119-103 and 118-103?were arguably considered the largest margin in the history of prizefighting.
Speaking of records, the two plane-load 350-man Pacquiao entourage, likewise, came out the biggest brought by any fighter in a boxing match. In the same way that the all-Pastor choir that sang the Philippine National Anthem was also a first in boxing.
That near shutout win over Algieri, a master?s degree holder in college, was his second in a row against undefeated fighters, counting his revenge victory over Bradley early this year.
The world looks up to Pacquiao as the best pound-for-pound fighter of this era with his punching power, speed, determination and dedication to vault back from one adversity to another on the way to a 57-5-2 win-loss-draw record with 38 KOs,and being the only man on earth to win eight division world championships.
Photo: Pacquiao (L) connects with a left a Tim Bradley during their rematch on April 12, 2014 in Las Vegas. Photo by Wendell Rupert Alinea.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Eddie Alinea.
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