Pacquiao sees tough fight vs Algieri: Arum

MANILA, Philippines – Contrary to what most analysts believe, Manny Pacquiao won't be able to beat Chris Algieri that easy, according to boxing promoter Bob Arum.

The Top Rank Inc. executive said even Pacquiao himself knows it will be a challenge to face the taller, younger and hungry American boxer.

“Anybody who thinks that Manny Pacquiao is gonna have a cakewalk with Algieri has another thing coming,” Arum said in an interview on DZMM’s “Teka Muna.”

“Because the guy who has taken Algieri the most seriously is Manny Pacquiao.”

Arum said aside from Algieri’s physical advantages against the smaller Pacquiao, the American fighter has a fighting style that poses problems to the eight-division champion.

The 5'10'' tall Algieri possesses a longer reach and this complements his counter-punching strategy. This has worked well for the New York-based fighter, allowing him to win 20 fights in a row.

“Algieri is a terrific fighter, he's great conditioned, he has a marvelous jab. He's extraordinary intelligent in the ring,” said Arum.

“Manny realized that Algieri presents major problems and he schooled himself to meet those problems.”

This is why Pacquiao immersed himself into perhaps the best training camp he had in years, he said.

“He's worked hard. He's focused. He's put in more time. Sparring partners are better in this camp than have been in many few years,” said Arum.

The Provodnikov upset

The Long Island native won the Pacquiao sweepstakes when he unexpectedly gutted out a split decision upset against fancied Russian brawler Ruslan Provodnikov last June.

Arum said Algieri ruined their plans of staging a showdown between Provodnikov and Pacquiao because of his win.

“He upset Provodnikov and made it shift our plans to fight Algieri. That was an unbelievable, gutty ‘Rocky-like’ performance. He's knocked down in the first round, his eyes were closed, he came back and outboxed Provodnikov and won the fight. This is a real tough kid,” said Arum.

The Pacquiao-Algieri WBO welterweight title fight will take place at the Cotai Arena in the luxurious Venetian Macau.

Arum said tickets have already been sold out since a lot of Filipinos and several high rollers from the US flew in to watch the fight live.

The card is also expected to draw 300 million viewers in China, he said.

“The fight will be broadcast on Sunday morning on Chinese national television networks, 9 regional networks and 2 internet portals. So they're looking at an audience as large as 300 million viewers. Tremendous buzz in China not only for Manny but also for their superstar Zou Shiming,” he said.

Interestingly, Shiming will be figuring in a flyweight title eliminator against Thailand’s Kwanpichit Onesongchaigym, who looked like a “carbon copy” of Pacquiao.

The bout is also well-covered by the US press, which has shown interest in Algieri’s story.

“We have a marvelous tour out from the US, Chris is a New York boy from Long Island and every single New York paper is here in Macau so the coverage from all over the US, the LA Times, Reuters, I mean it's almost like the Filipinos’ coverage for Manny Pacquiao,” said Arum.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Bradley survives Provodnikov in 12-round war

Unbeaten American boxer Timothy Bradley Jr. fought a punishing 12-round war against unheralded challenger Ruslan Provodnikov of Russia, managing to do just enough to retain his World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight title via unanimous decision.

Provodnikov had Bradley in trouble in the first round, nearly knocked out the champion in the second, and forced him to take a knee in the 12th and final round.

But Bradley was in control of most of the middle rounds, battering Provodnikov’s face to earn a hard-fought 114-113, 114-113 and 115-112 decision Saturday at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California (Sunday in Manila).

“I wanted to prove to the world that I’m a great fighter, I’m a great champion. I wanted to step up and fight anybody,” said Bradley, who fought – and won – for the first time since beating Filipino idol Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao back in June 2012.

Provodnikov, who served as Pacquiao’s primary sparring partner during his training camp for Bradley, very nearly did what the Pacman could not, as he repeatedly hurt Bradley with several right hands in the opening round.

Bradley went down in the first round but referee Pat Russell ruled it a slip, which wound up costing Provodnikov a draw in the scorecards.

In the second round, Provodnikov continued to get the better of Bradley on their exchanges on the inside. The American seemed to be out on his feet towards the end of the round, and Provodnikov seemed on his way to a knockout victory.

But Bradley managed to survive the round, while Provodnikov appeared to have punched himself out.

“I just wanted to close the gap. I wanted to see if he was all that inside. I wanted to get inside and see I could get my shots off, and he showed me right away that he was a very strong kid,” Bradley said.

Bradley went on to control most of the middle rounds, using his superior boxing skills to outwork Provodnikov.

There was still a tense moment for Bradley at the end of the sixth round, when the Russian unleashed a flurry that once again put Bradley on the brink of defeat, but the champion was saved by the bell.

After sustaining much damage in the early rounds, Bradley was able to set the pace in the middle and late rounds, but was stunned again in the 12th and final round.

Provodnikov battered Bradley for almost a minute and had the American in deep trouble with about 30 seconds to go. Bradley took a knee with around 10 seconds left to stop the onslaught, and got up on his feet as time expired.

“He’s the first opponent that rocked me, who took me the distance and actually hurt me. He’s the first guy to do that,” Bradley said of Provodnikov.

Bradley also predicted that Provodnikov will be a champion in the future, calling the Russian “the real deal.”

Meanwhile, Top Rank promoter Bob Arum sees greater things for Bradley after the show he put on.

“He has the world next, because now people say this guys is an entertainer, this guy goes out there and fights and entertains the public,” Arum said.

Bradley improved his record to 30-0, while Provodnikov sustained his second loss against 22 victories.

source: abs-cbnnews.com