It's Monday. Welcome back for another edition of Observe and Fight, The Boxing Observer's compilation of observations and random thoughts from the week that was in boxing. Get caught up on some of the most recent events you may have missed out on, including a preview of Manny Pacquiao's fight this Saturday against Chris Algieri, another dominant heavyweight performance from Wladimir Klitschko, a bloodbath in Pittsburgh, and much more. Without further ado, check out the latest observations from the Boxing Observer, David Kassel.
Chris Algieri must be perfect to beat Manny Pacquiao. I am not knocking anything Chris Algieri has accomplished in his career. He has successfully transformed himself from a world champion kickboxer to a world champion boxer with no amateur boxing experience. That's extremely difficult to do. On top of that, he runs a successful business and plans on going back to school after his boxing career is finished (which may be sooner rather than later as Algieri has stated in the past) to earn his Ph. D. The guy is intelligent, charismatic, good-looking, and articulate. He seems to be the total package and a promoter's dream. However, Saturday night, he will be going up against the toughest challenge of his professional fighting career. Manny Pacquiao is a completely different animal. Algieri has never seen anything like him. His speed is devastating, and his power his plentiful. How in the world can Algieri hold up against Pacquiao? The answer may not be what you think.
Algieri should NOT try to "box" Pacquiao from the outside from the opening bell. Conventional wisdom would tell you that Algieri should use his 3 1/2-inch height advantage, and his 5-inch reach advantage, to keep Pacquiao at a safe distance from being able to land combinations. However, Pacquiao's speed and awkward angles are going to allow him to get inside on Algieri in a way the Huntington, New York native has never seen. Instead, Algieri should come out from the opening bell and take the fight to Pacquiao. Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach, knows full well that Algieri is not a heavy puncher, so Roach isn't worried about Algieri putting Pacquiao to sleep. However, based on the fight with Ruslan Provodnikov, most believe Algieri will try to stay on the outside and try to "box." While that may be a good idea later in the fight once Pacquiao wears down, Algieri needs to use his size and strength advantage to smother Pacquiao to prevent him from getting off combinations and using his legs to bounce in and out. If Algieri tries to back up the entire fight, it will be easy pickings for Pacquiao. If Algieri surprises everyone by fighting on the inside, he's got a shot to win the fight on the scorecards.
Both Pacquiao and Algieri are in win-win situations. I know this statement seems rather odd, but it makes perfect sense. Let's start with Algieri. If he wins, he'll likely face Pacquiao in an immediate rematch thanks to a rematch clause in the contract, which is guaranteed to be a seven figure payday. If Pacquiao opts out of the rematch, Algieri will be Floyd Mayweather's next opponent (likely in May, but still to be determined). Either way, Algieri makes seven figures for his next fight. If Algieri loses, he is no worse off than he was before the Provodnikov fight. As for Pacquiao, if he loses, a rematch with Algieri will be the first option and will make a lot of money due to the revenge factor and Pacquiao's drawing power. If Pacquiao wins, he has a lot of options between 135-147 lbs thanks to the end of boxing's Cold War (Top Rank and Golden Boy are once again willing to do business). Pacquiao could face Terence Crawford, Danny Garcia, Mikey Garcia, Omar Figueroa, Jessie Vargas, Adrien Broner, Amir Khan, Kell Brook, Devon Alexander, Marcos Maidana, or any other top fighter in the world, and the fight would do big numbers [Editor's note: Although Golden Boy and Top Rank appear to be willing to do business together, fighters like Danny Garcia, Adrien Broner, Amir Khan, Devon Alexander, and Marcos Maidana are all advised by Al Haymon, and thus far, he and Bob Arum have done little to no business together].
The Pacquiao vs. Algieri pay-per-view card is not even the best fight card on Saturday. That honor belongs to the world championship double-header in Kanagawa, Japan. WBC 130lb champion Takashi Miura defends against Edgar Puerta, and WBC flyweight titlist Roman Gonzalez defends against Rocky Fuentes. While Pacquiao's name brings fans into the equation, the undercard does nothing to grab my attention. The best fight on the card may be the opening fight as Jessie Vargas defends his version of the WBA 140lb title against Antonio Demarco with Vargas hoping a win leads to a shot at Pacquiao next. Zou Shiming will draw fan interest in China, but his appearances in the ring have been less than entertaining for me. Vasyl Lomachenko is also on the card, and while he is fun to watch, I have no interest in watching him destroy Chonlatam Piriyapinyo on his way to defending his WBO featherweight title. UNDERCARDS MATTER PEOPLE! UNDERCARDS MATTER!
Wladimir Klitschko may not have any competition in the heavyweight division before he retires. Folks, Kubrat Pulev was the #2 ranked heavyweight in the world, and Klitschko destroyed him. Pulev landed some good shots early, but Klitschko's left hook was unstoppable. Klitschko wants to fight in America (even though he makes a ton of money fighting in Europe), and he fought more fan-friendly on Saturday than he has in a long time. Klitschko wants to unify the titles and that means he must face the winner of WBC champion Bermane Stiverne vs. Deontay Wilder if the two ever meet in the ring. Klitschko says he is willing to fight in Madison Square Garden or Barclays Center. I know people have been knocking Klitschko for years, but he fights the best opponents available, and he is a 1st-ballot Hall-of-Famer. He is going to be a fighter who is appreciated well after his time as a fighter is through.
I continue to be impressed with 23-year-old super middleweight sensation Gilberto Ramirez. His record may be inflated at 30-0 (24 KO's), but that is commonplace amongst fighters from Mexico. This guy is the real deal and isn't that far off from earning himself a world title shot. Ramirez's opponent Saturday, Fulgencio Zuniga, is a tough customer. Coming into the fight, he had only been knocked out once (by Lucian Bute) and had gone the distance with the likes of Kelly Pavlik, Tavoris Cloud, Thomas Oosthuizen, James Degale, and Hassan N'Dam. Ramirez treated him like a rag doll before ending the fight in the 8th round. Keep an eye on Gilberto Ramirez because he's going to be around for a long time.
The same goes for Jo Jo Diaz and Erickson Lubin. Both young fighters got their chance to shine on separate national television bouts, and neither fighter failed to disappoint. Diaz was dominant, and although the 19-year-old, Lubin, was put on the canvas in the 1st-round, he stormed back against a veteran opponent and dominated the rest of the fight.
Iron Mike Productions keeps putting on great shows! The co-main event Friday night from Pittsburgh saw a bloodbath between Pittsburgh natives and arch rivals, Rod Salka and Monty Meza-Clay. Salka earned the decision victory, but both fighters earned, and deserved, well more than they probably made in that fight. It was the type of fight fans dream of and the type of fight that shortens fighters careers.
There's another great fight card in Liverpool, England taking place Saturday. Nathan Cleverly and Tony Bellew meet once again in the cruiserweight main event of their first fight (Cleverly scored a majority decision win when the two met for the WBO light heavyweight title in 2011). Also on the card, Scott Quiqq defends his 122lb title, while Jamie McDonnell defends his 118lb championship belt. Other great fights include Marco Antonio Periban vs. James DeGale, George Groves vs. Denis Douglin, and Anthony Joshua vs. Micahel Sprott.
Each week, I feature an email from a fan on Observe and Fight. This week's email comes to us from Jesse S. regarding future Canelo opponents...
"Just had a question regarding HBO and Canelo Alvarez. With him being signed to HBO, during an interview, Oscar and Canelo mentioned the fights they wanted would be Miguel Cotto, Chavez Jr, Golovkin, Pacquiao, & Bob Arum saying he wants Timothy Bradley to get a shot at Canelo. Which fighters are honestly possible vs Canelo..and if you could pick any of the current Top 10 Ranked Jr Middleweight fighters to face Canelo in the future, except Cotto, who would you chose? Thanks and have a great day!
I believe all those guys, with the exception of Chavez Jr., are a possibility to face Canelo in the future. However, if there are a couple Jr. middleweights in the world right now (and I'm only talking about guys who are actually 154lbs or who have previously fought at 154lbs in the past) I would likely choose James Kirkland, Demetrius Andrade, or Keith Thurman (who is willing to fight at 147 or 154). I just believe those would be entertaining fights.
That's all I've got for this week. Email any questions or comments to dkassel@fighthype.com and I will answer them throughout the week. Your email may be featured in the next "Observe and Fight." Follow me on Twitter @BoxingObserver, and be sure to "Like" The Boxing Observer on Facebook.
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