The Pacman now wants Mayweather

MACAU—Manny Pacquiao enjoyed doing his Foot Locker commercial so much that he has taken his lines to heart.

“Yes, yes he’s going to fight me,” said Pacquiao in the ring on Sunday after handing the erstwhile unbeaten Chris Algieri a thorough beating in their showdown for the Filipino superstar’s World Boxing Organization welterweight crown at The Venetian Macao.
Pacquiao, who showed too much skill and experience in knocking down Algieri six times en route to a lopsided unanimous decision, repeated his lines in referring to pound-for-pound rival Floyd Mayweather Jr., who has continued to shun negotiations for a much-awaited mega-buck bout with him.

“He’s going to fight me?” Pacquiao again hollered during the postfight conference at the press center.

Asked about the sudden change in his demeanor regarding the eagerly awaited Pacquiao-Mayweather bout, he replied: “It’s been a long time. The fans want that fight to happen. It’s time to step up to the plate and say yes.”

Experts feel Pacquiao’s domination of Algieri in the headliner of the Clash in Cotai II would put pressure on Mayweather to agree to fight Pacquiao within the first half of next year.

Early in the week, Top Rank chief Bob Arum bared that a Pacquiao-Mayweather fight is closer than ever imagined now because “responsible people from both sides are talking.”

Pacquiao, who put Algieri on the canvas in the second and 10th and twice in the sixth and ninth rounds, said he was really bent on stopping Algieri, but the WBO light welterweight titlist turned out to be tough and durable.

“I did my best. I knocked him down six times and he still kept on fighting. It shows his toughness as a fighter,” said Pacquiao, who raised his record to 57 wins, 5 losses and 2 draws with 38 knockouts.

Bringing to the ring what he did in the gym, Pacquiao showed a lot of gallop and wallop for one who is turning 36 on Dec. 17.

Showing the benefits of more sessions with the heavy bags, Pacquiao was able to down Algieri with combinations (first round), body blows (sixth) and an uppercut (ninth).

Despite enjoying a four-inch height and five-inch reach advantage, Algieri was unable to control the tempo with his jabs and suffered his first defeat in 21 fights.

Pacquiao said he was very happy with the outcome of the fight, which he again dedicated to the Filipino people.

According to Pacquiao, the presence of his family—wife Jinkee and children Jimuel, Michael, Princess, Queen Elizabeth and infant Israel, mother Dionisia, father Rosalio, his siblings and relatives, served as his inspiration to do well in the bout that was witnessed by 13,202 fans at the venue, about 90 percent of whom were Filipinos.