MACAU — It was shortly after 4:30 p.m. local time when Manny Pacquiao
entered his suite atop the north tower of the Venetian Macao.
Approximately 100 people were there, waiting almost three hours after
his fight to congratulate him on his unanimous decision victory over
Chris Algieri.
Pacquiao (57-5-2, 38 knockouts) dominated the contest from the opening bell.
He consistently landed power shots, particularly with his left hand,
and knocked down the overmatched Algieri six times to retain his World
Boxing Organization welterweight championship.
Perhaps
the only disappointment for Pacquiao, 35, was that he again failed to
register a knockout, extending a five-year drought. Pacquiao cited
Algieri’s toughness as the reason he was unable to finish the bout
early.
“I
did my best, you know?” Pacquiao said. “I knocked him down many times,
six times, and he still keep on fighting. So he’s a tough boxer.”
Algieri
(20-1, eight knockouts), who displayed extreme confidence throughout
the week, appeared crestfallen during the postfight news conference.
“This
is not exactly how I expected to be up here,” Algieri, a native of
Huntington, N.Y., said. “I expected to be 21-0 at this point. Very
disappointed. But this is boxing. Manny Pacquiao is a great champion.”
Naturally, it was not long before the talk shifted to the possibility of a meeting between Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Bob Arum, the chief executive of Top Rank Boxing, which promotes
Pacquiao, said earlier in the week that he was close to striking a deal
for the long-awaited matchup.
Pacquiao left no doubt as to his preference in the matter.
“The fans really deserve that fight,” he said.
Arum expressed frustration over the parties’ inability to reach an agreement.
“Speaking
for Manny, for myself, we’re tired,” Arum said. “Every place we go,
they ask us: ‘When is it going to happen? When is that fight going to be
made?’ ”
He
added: “Enough is enough. Let’s just make the fight happen. Let’s just
get it done. And let’s get it done the next fight for each fighter.”
But
with the victory over Algieri only a few hours old, Pacquiao was only
going to dwell on the impasse with Mayweather so much. He joined the
celebration in his suite, posing for photographs and signing autographs
before his security detail escorted him to his bedroom for a bit of
quiet time.
Other
than a brief emergence for an interview with a television outlet from
the Philippines, Pacquiao spent the next five and a half hours locked in
his bedroom. A few of those closest to the boxer gained entrance, but
the rest of those gathered to see Pacquiao were held outside.
Much
of the crowd in the suite included people Pacquiao did not know. People
like Ken Villaver, a boxing fan from Sydney. Villaver identified
himself as an acquaintance of Justin Fortune, Pacquiao’s strength and
conditioning coach, which earned him access to the suite.
Villaver
was waiting for an opportunity to have his photograph taken with
Pacquiao. He expressed amazement at the number of people there and the
fact that an outsider like him could get so close.
“I’ve
heard all the stories about Manny’s entourage, and how big it is,”
Villaver said. “I can’t say I’m overly surprised, but man, it’s big.”
Also
present at the postfight celebration were members of the Philippine
Basketball Association team Kia Sorento, for whom Pacquiao is the head
coach and a part-time player. The team won its first game of the season,
in which Pacquiao participated, but has since lost six straight.
Several players and coaches expressed gratitude that Pacquiao was
scheduled to return for the team’s next game, Wednesday night.
“That’s why we haven’t won!” the assistant coach Chris Gavina said, jokingly.
There
was plenty of time for such talk as hours passed with no hint of an
appearance from Pacquiao. Just before 8 p.m., the trainer Freddie Roach
and several of Pacquiao’s sparring partners were granted access to the
fighter’s bedroom. A Bible study session commenced in the living room of
the suite, with Pacquiao and a few of his V.I.P.s still tucked away.
About
10 p.m., Pacquiao, dressed in a white T-shirt and blue sweatpants,
emerged to join the gathering. He took the microphone that had been set
up at the front of the room, looked around at the 100 or so people
congregated around him, and began to preach.
“I have no doubt, when I walk in the ring to fight, I’m 100 percent confident, because I am in the hands of God,” he said.
Throughout
Pacquiao’s 20-minute sermon, keyboard music played softly in the
background, and there were bursts of applause at regular intervals. He
spoke in a mixture of English and his native Tagalog. His soliloquy was
uninterrupted; his audience rapt.
At
this moment, Mayweather, and boxing, seemed to be an afterthought. This
was a solemn occasion, and Pacquiao was not going to trivialize it by
invoking matters of sport. Still, those who were focused on such things
could seize upon one line at the end of his sermon, and cite it as a
reason for optimism.
“All things are possible,” he said.
And then he led the crowd in song.
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