In what was the biggest fight of his career, Algieri came up woefully short, as he was never able to even trouble Pacquiao. The "Pacman" won a wide decision, with scores of 119-103, 119-103, and 120-102.
Yet Algieri cut a defiant picture at the end of the fight, claiming only one of Pacquiao's six knockdowns was legitimate.
"The only one that was a legitimate knockdown was when we traded left hooks (in the ninth round) and I went down," Algieri said in a post-fight interview. "That was the only shot that really hurt me."
"I thought it was my best round of the fight at that point, and I sat down on a left hook," he added.
But Pacquiao, whose hand-speed and punching power were evident all throughout, was much faster and unleashed a left cross of his own that sent Algieri tumbling to the canvas.
"That was the only shot that hurt me," Algieri claimed. "I had my legs pretty good when I got up."
Algieri, however, was knocked down again shortly after as Pacquiao tried to go for the kill and landed a flurry of punches. The American, however, managed to remain standing until the final bell, and denied Pacquiao what would have been his first knockout win since 2009.
Pacquiao said he tried to go for the knockout although he also tried to be more careful and avoid making a misstep -- the way he did against Mexican rival Juan Manuel Marquez in December 2012 when he was memorably knocked out with a second to go in the sixth round.
Algieri, however, believes that it was his own punching power that caused Pacquiao to hold back.
"I've hurt every fight I've fought," he said. "I think I caught him with a few shots that made him think. In the last round, I know his corner was imploring him to turn it on and he was throwing bombs… (But) I think I caught him with a few counter shots on the way in."
Algieri did give Pacquiao credit, saying the Filipino was "the best in the world at fighting like Manny Pacquiao."
"His start and stop is great, and he has perfected fighting like Manny Pacquiao," said the American.
"It's not so much the punching power. It's how he mixes the punches. Like I said, he's the best in the world at fighting like Manny Pacquiao, and it's a very, very unique style," said Algieri, who also called the Filipino champ a "hell of a fighter."
source: www.abs-cbnnews.com
