A night out would have been easier to swallow, even if the chef bungled the meal, and/or your date was a dog?
Predictably, the outclassed Chris Algieri was resoundingly defeated by Manny Pacquiao in Macau, China Saturday night, effectively dispelling Algieri?s rags-to-riches male Cinderella Myth embraced by himself, his wishful fans and the ever-huckstering HBO PPV propaganda machine. One might best have spent the $69.95 at dinner that night, than watch this PPV debacle. As for parity of opponents in championship bouts, for sure, a night out would have been easier to swallow, even if the chef bungled the meal, and/or your date was a dog.
From the first round forward it became obvious Algieri was in over his head, moving further and further behind, like a guy who borrows a huge sum of money from a loan shark on a nasty gambling debt, not knowing what he was getting himself into. hat?s because with each passing round his occasional-landing jab and right hand were feeble principle as measured against the fast accruing interest rate of faster punches thrown by his classier, elusive and more experienced opponent. Algieri simply couldn?t make the requisite round-by-round payments to keep up, and as a result dug himself into a deeper Black Hole approaching the mid-way point in the bout. By round six, falling woefully behind and suffering three knockdowns while devoid of KO power, it became altogether clear that Algieri couldn?t and wouldn?t make due. Heading toward the later rounds, one could anticipate that the chickens would sooner come home to roost for the involvent, pretty boy challenger. It was time for the repo man to collect big-time, likely in the form of a KO. Such is the fate of those who hastily make a deal with the devil on a whim. The only surprise was that this one went to a decision, somewhat owing to Algieri?s gutsy resolve, but mostly to his fleeting feet.
Interestingly, the comments of Algieri?s cornermen on their man being ?let out of his cage,? ostensibly to do greater damage to Pacquaio, along with their remarks late in the fight that team Algieri was ?exactly where they wanted to be? must imply that the fleeing Stony Brook graduate was a canary that should sooner take flight than be devoured by the wily Filipino Cat moving in for the kill. And that?s exactly what Algieri seemed to do while in avoidant survival mode the last round. Thus terminates Chris Algieri?s so-called rise to respectability, which by rights should have ended in his bout with light welterweight champion Ruslan Provodnikov, or at least in a rematch with same following the scoring travesty that swindled the Russian out of a victory last June.
As a writer, Horatio Alger had more apropos tales and characters descript of the upstart Chris Algieri, namely, ?Ragged Dick,? and ?Jed, The Poorhouse Boy.? Alger never got beyond the ?pulp novel? status that his work and critics reduced him to, nor will Algieri as a championship caliber boxer, looking better on paper than in the ring. Such currently characterizes HBO Sports, so heavily chomping at the bit for American boxing champions that its producers are clueless as to their own pulp fiction addiction to ?Beauty vs. Beast? in shilling bouts like Algieri vs. Pacquiao.
Horatio Alger was once charged with the crime of ?unnatural familiarity with boys,? causing him to publicly avoid his fascination with same as subjects for his novels. Says here, in the future HBO would do well to take heed before matching untested challengers with proven champions.
The only significance in this fight lay in its aftermath, in speculations as to who Pacquiao?s next opponent will be. Pray tell, will it long last be Mayweather?
