KO remains elusive for Pacquiao

By Alex P. Vidal

As expected, Manny Pacquiao walked past unbeaten WBO light welterweight champion Chris Algieri, but failed to score the knockout demanded by his fans since November 2009, winning by a lopsided decision after 12 rounds to keep his WBO welterweight crown at the Cotai Arena inside the Venetian Resort in Macao, China on Sunday.

Pacquiao (57-5-2, 38 KOs) scored a tension-filled unanimous decision over Algieri (20-1, 8 KOs), who was downed six times and became the seventh man to finish the distance with Pacquiao since March 13, 2010 when Pacquiao beat  Joshua Clottey by 12-round unanimous decision in Arlington, Texas.

Pacquiao, 35, stalked Algieri, 30, the whole fight, as Algieri used his footwork to backpedal and box from outside.

Algieri slipped in round two but referee Genaro Rodriquez credited it as a knockdown for Pacquiao.

Algieri never threatened Pacquiao, who patiently waited to land a solid combination in a hope to nail the elusive knockout victory.  

SOUTHPAW

The Filipino southpaw scored two more knockdowns in round six. Pacquiao floored Algieri two more times in round nine and Algieri, fighting for the first time outside New York, barely survived.

Algieri went down for the sixth time at the end of round ten.

Pacquiao’s last KO was against Miguel Angel Cotto on November 14, 2009.

Freddie Roach had predicted a first round stoppage win for his ward, who is now a playing coach in the Philippine Basketball Association.

Bob Arum negotiates for Pacquiao’s next fight eight against Ruslan Provodnikov or Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Juan Manuel Marquez is one of the names being floated as Pacquiao’s next foe. If the fight happens, it will be their fifth meeting.

BRIEF PRE-FIGHT ANALYSIS: What to expect when Pacquiao and Algieri throw punches

By Alex P. Vidal

--Pacquiao is left-handed. He throws a jab with his right and makes a follow up straight with his left.

--Algieri is orthodox or right-handed. He throws a jab with a left and makes a follow up straight with his right.

--Pacquiao will attack and tries to get nearer Algieri most of the time so he can connect with solid combinations.

--Algieri will try to stop Pacquiao in his tracks by using his reach advantage and sprays Pacquiao with a two-punch (jab-straight) combination.

--Pacquiao, being the shorter, will go in front of Algieri.

--Algieri will use lateral movements (footwork) and steps side by side to avoid a frontal assault.

FINISHING TOUCHES:

--Pacquiao will use a left hook most of the time to catch the taller Algieri. A left hook will come after a set-up right jab. The fight could end with a single shot (left hook). If the impact is not so strong, Pacquiao can make another follow-up left hook or right uppercut. Pacquiao could finish off Algieri in any round with a two-punch combination.

--In order to knock out Pacquiao, Algieri must be able to connect at least five unanswered blows which is a remote possibility considering that Pacquiao moves quickly and can evade Algieri's dragnet after being hit with two unanswered punches.

--To beat Pacquiao, Algieri must start piling up points in the first phase (rounds 1 to 6) of the bout and sustain it in the last six rounds. That is granting that Algieri will survive Pacquiao's juggernaut in the first four rounds which is expected to be violent and bloody.

--Normally it should be Pacquiao, given his vast edge in experience, quality of opponents plus speed and force, who should win by either KO or TKO. If he fails to flatten Algieri past seven rounds, the fight can go to the judges' scorecards.

--Normally it should be Algieri, because of his height and reach advantage and perhaps stamina, who should win on points if Pacquiao can't connect the much-ballyhooed haymakers. If Algieri will run most of the time and forget that the fight will be decided on the scorecards thus he fails to land crisp punches that would convince the judges, Algieri will lose by unanimous decision.

Warning to Pacquiao: Algieri ain’t heavy and he’s not your brother

“The first thing I learned in boxing is to not get hit. That's the art of boxing. Execute your opponent without getting hit. In sports school, we were putting our hands behind our backs and having to defend ourselves with our shoulders, by rolling, by moving round the ring, moving out feet.” Wladimir Klitschko

By Alex P. Vidal

WE were surprised to find out that Manny Pacquiao (56-5-2, 38 KOs) was heavier than Chris Algieri (20-0, 8 KOs) during the official weigh in a day before their 12-round battle for the WBO welterweight title in Macao on November 22.
Pacquiao was 143.8; Algieri 143.6. 

If the opponent is not heavy and moves like a rabbit, he can be a difficult target.

A moving object is always hard to hit.

If the moving vehicle with a full tank does not carry heavy passengers, its speed is like a bullet in the Ventura highway.  

Even if they will dispute the WBO 147-lb title in a 144 lbs or “catch weight”, we always expected Pacquiao’s opponent to be heavier.

Antonio Margarito, one of the two other tallest trees in Pacquiao’s forest at five feet and 11 inches, weighed 150 pounds as against Pacquiao’s 144.5 pounds when they disputed the WBC light middleweight crown in Arlington, Texas on Nov. 13, 2010.

Oscar De La Hoya, the other giant opponent at five feet and 11 and a half inches, weighed 145 pounds as against Pacquiao’s 142 pounds when they battled for the IBO light welterweight tiara in Las Vegas on December 6, 2008.

Another tall customer, Brandon Rios, weighed 146.5 pounds as against Pacquiao’s 145 pounds when they rumbled for the WBO international welterweight bauble in Macao on Nov. 24, 2013.

Timothy Bradley was 145.5 pounds while Pacquiao was 145 pounds when they fought in a rematch for WBO welterweight championship in Las Vegas on April 12, 2014.

FIGHT DAY

During fight day, their weights are always expected to balloon as they immediately fill up their empty stomachs with juice drinks and heavy meals to replenish the body.

We expect Pacquiao and Algieri to weight between 147 to 149 pounds before the bell rings.

In any weight category, the heavier boxer is the slower.

No one is giving Algieri the benefit of the doubt to score a one-punch knockout against the Filipino KO artist owing to his not-so-impressive ring ledger.

But the lighter Algieri, standing five feet and 10 inches, will be a difficult moving target.

Computer statistics of his previous bouts revealed Algieri’s work rate increases as the fight moves on to the final stanza.

The volume of Algieri’s punches, as the bout progresses, should not be taken for granted.

Experts consider the New Yorker as “a very intelligent fighter” who has channeled his brains to prizefighting.

An intelligent fighter knows what is best and what is dangerous for him.

DANGEROUS

It is dangerous for Algieri to engage Pacquiao in a slugfest.

It is best for him to weave and bob, sidestep when trapped in the corner, use Ali’s rope a dope tactic, and utilize a lot of lateral movements.

With a longer reach and legs, he can survive and live another day until 12 rounds if he can avoid Pacquiao’s early kamizake-like assault which includes a left hook and right uppercut.

“Knowing he doesn't have one-punch power, Algieri smartly has utilized incredible volume and lateral movement to forge his undefeated record,” reported the Compubox.

“In winning the title from Provodnikov, Algieri averaged 82.8 punches per round to Provodnikov's 64.7 and his jab was particularly busy (47.2 thrown, nearly twice the 24.7 junior welterweight norm) and effective (9.2 connects per round was nearly twice the 140-pound average).

HEART

“Despite his Basilio-esque swelling Algeri never lost heart and the result were wide gaps in connects across the board (288-205 overall, 111-41 jabs, 177-164 power; 29%-26% overall, 20%-12% jabs, 41%-38% power).”

Pacquiao will have lot of running to do to cut the ring and catch the tall rabbit for his first KO win after eight fights (six wins by decision and two losses).

The memory of the 6^th round KO lost to nemesis Juan Manuel Marquez is still very much in his mind, thus Pacquiao, 35, can’t afford to underestimate Algieri, 30, even if the American was able to score only eight stoppages in 20 victories.

Algieri will have a lot of adjustments to make since he will be fighting a lefty who can disarrange a bull’s set of teeth with a single punch.

He is prepared to ride in a bicycle and use his footwork diligently to avoid losing a single tooth.

Referee Genaro Rodriguez probably has prepared to run around for 12 rounds as we expect the clash to finish the full route with Pacquiao winning by unanimous decision.

Algieri sent to Macao to be massacred

“Boxing is not about your feelings. It's about performance.” Manny Pacquiao

By Alex P. Vidal

In terms of style and skills, Chris Algieri, 30, pales in comparison to Manny Pacquiao, 35.

Experience wise, the difference is like an automobile and a pushcart.

Algieri (20-0, 8 KOs) joined prizefighting at 23 while Pacquiao (56-5-2, 38 KOs) has been boxing as a pro since 15.

He was an amateur boxer at 9 in Gen. Santos City.

Algieri, five feet and 10 inches, has a KO of 40 percent while Pacquiao, five feet and six inches, tots a KO of 60.32 percent.

Judging from his record, Algieri does not possess a one-punch KO power.

Pacquiao has demolished more than a dozen fighters with a single blow.

Because of his longer reach, Algieri is expected to use a two-fisted assault (jab-straight combination) to prevent brawler Pacquiao from penetrating his breadbasket when they clash for the 12-round WBO welterweight title at the Cotai Arena, Venetian Resort in Macao on November 22.

TACTIC

The same tactic Algieri used when he survived two knockdowns in the first round en route to escaping with a 12-round split decision against Ruslan Provodnikov (23-3, 16 KOs) at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York on July 14, 2014.

Criticized for his failure to score a knockout since 2009, Pacquiao knows he badly needs a stoppage victory in Macao to convince his fans he isn’t yet over the hill.

Top Rank’s Bob Arum picked the unbeaten but inexperienced Algieri to make sure Pacquiao will satisfy the bloodthirsty fight fans.

But Team Algieri thinks the big break is more than a blessing in disguise for the previously unknown former world kickboxing champion.

Algieri himself believes his come-from-behind win against Provodnikov was not a fluke.

ENDING

He foresees Pacquiao’s ending in the 10^th canto on a technical knockout (TKO).

But Algieri’s record does not indicate he can easily eat alive fighters of Pacquiao’s caliber.

All his eight KO victims were either patsies or dishwashers. No big names; all small fries: Ken Dunham (TKO3), Rakeem Carter (TKO4), Clarence Smith (TKO1), Eric Rodriguez (TKO3), Julias Edmonds (TKO4), Winston Mathis (TKO3), Wilfredo Acuna (TKO7).

Pacquiao, on the other hand, has demolished some of the most destructive fighters in the world en route to collecting eight world crowns in eight different divisions.

Tall fighters like Algieri are actually Pacquiao’s favorite hitting targets.

The hard-hitting Filipino superstar can stop an opponent with a body attack. 

He is trained to assault even a dinosaur and an elephant in the square jungle.

The congressman from Mindanao also loves to rumble against opponents who move forward and engage him in waterfront brawl.

AVOID

Algieri will avoid this type of war, of course.

As the defending champion, Algieri is expected to make a lot of lateral movements and will not press the fight.

Pacquiao will be coming out like a house on fire in the first three stanzas.

The longer the fight develops, the more that Pacquiao becomes dangerous.

At the back of his mind, only a knockout win will redeem his name after six victories, all by decision, interrupted only by a split decision defeat to Timothy Bradley on June 9, 2012 and an embarrassing 6^th round KO loss to Juan Manuel Marquez on December 8, 2012.

A mistake by Algieri in the first three rounds could end the fight by a quick knockout once Pacquiao is able to connect with a left hook, the same punch that sent Algieri to the canvas for a mandatory eight count in the first round against Provodnikov.

Algieri was sent to Macao to be massacred. 

Boy Mejorada didn’t deserve it

“Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life; define yourself.”  Harvey Fierstein

By Alex P. Vidal

IF they call it a mortal sin, the only fault of Manuel “Boy M” Mejorada was he made a sweeping statement that Iloilo is a “bird’s nest of corruption” in the recent Senate blue ribbon committee hearing in Manila.

Columnist Wenceslao Mateo called it as “probably a slip of the tongue.”

His other “sin” was he dared but failed to topple the Goliath, considered as the most powerful and influential political demigod in the country next to President Noynoy Aquino and Vice President Jejomar Binay when he fell short during the senate inquiry with his most important ammunition: evidence. (It’s too early to celebrate though since the Goliath is still facing a plunder case in the Ombudsman).

But this does not make Mejorada an unworthy person that would warrant a declaration of persona non grata or unacceptable person from the Iloilo City Council.

Mejorada is intelligent and old enough to defend himself amid the barrage of ridicule and scurrilous verbal and written assaults he has been getting from those agitated by his “bird’s nest of corruption” allegation, thus I am not defending him as if my next meal is at stake in this issue.

OVERKILL

In declaring Mejorada as persona non grata, the City Council may have committed overkill and abuse of authority.

Or they may not have done their homework and shot themselves in the foot as a result.

The issue here obviously is political. They don’t like Mejorada’s adversarial fulminations and they hate his guts.

But with all his shortcomings and imperfections, I have not heard of any instance that Mejorada has brought shame to the Ilonggos.

Feud with politicians in defense of his political patrons and media colleagues yes, but they weren’t in the level of demagoguery.

But I witnessed how he brought honor to the Ilonggos and how he made many of his fellow journalists proud of him.

Former Iloilo Governor Neil D. Tupas Sr. would not hire him as provincial administrator if he was a flash in the pan or a fly in the ointment.

It was Mejorada’s exclusive article in the Asiaweek, an international magazine, in 1985 that prompted the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) to help hungry kids in Negros.  

He was the first president of the Iloilo Press Club (1990-91) to be sworn in by no less than the late former President Corazon C. Aquino (I was a member of the IPC board).

Mejorada was the first outstanding fellow of the UP-Diliman College of Mass Communications-Konrad Adenauer Foundation-sponsored Graciano Lopez Jaena Community Journalism Fellowship in 1989 together with Diosa Labiste, a Magsaysay awardee for journalism and now UP-Diliman faculty member.

Only the best community journalists in the country are chosen to the Graciano Lopez-Jaena fellowship.

FIRST

Mejorada was the first and only Filipino back-to-back fellow in the Poynter Institute for Media Studies in St. Petersburg, Florida in 1991-1992.

No Filipino or Asian journalist for that matter has duplicated his feat in the Poynter Institute for Media Studies, where some of the best broadcast, TV and print journalists in the world hone their skills.

This was the man they brought to the guillotine and burned at the stake for speaking out his mind, for sending a thunderstorm to the establishment; and for saying what others would not dare say before a nationally-televised “live” conference.

“I may not agree with what you said, but I will defend to death your right to say it,” Voltaire once said.

I may not agree with Boy Mejorada, my senior in community journalism, on many issues including some of his political statements, but I will defend to death his right to say them.

His rights to freely express himself about political and social issues are not only protected by the Bill of Rights of our Constitution, they are also enshrined in the Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to wit: “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”

POWERS

The powers vested upon members of the legislative body cannot overrule these paramount rights.

They are buttressed by the doctrine that no law shall be passed abridging the freedom of the press and expression.

Because he went to the senate inquiry as a “former provincial administrator”, only few people knew that he really was, and is still an investigative journalist, thus he was pilloried and sneered at for mentioning that he is an investigative journalist who happened to fancy the Wikipedia.

A journalist, driven by passion and a clarion call for public service, will forever be a journalist.

Mejorada’s knack for investigative journalism did not end when he joined the government service first as Tupas’ executive assistant and subsequently as provincial administrator.

So many politicians, military officers and even members of the church and judiciary have openly and scandalously brought dishonor and shame to the city and province of Iloilo in the past, but they were never declared persona non grata.

Not even a rap in the knuckles.

Councilor Eduardo Penaredondo, a lawyer and the most senior member of the city council who authored the resolution against Mejorada, sounded like a dimwit and hypocrite when he asserted that because of Mejorada’s statement in the senate inquiry investors will now avoid Iloilo.

Timing of my article about Loreto-Garin bad

“People talk about perfect timing, but I think everything is perfect in its moment; you just want to capture that.”  Eddie Huang

By Alex P. Vidal

THE timing of my article entitled, “Did Loreto-Garin inherit top post of graft-ridden DOH?” last November 12 where I mentioned that “acting Secretary Janette Loreto-Garin remains to be one of the only few DOH bigwigs with immaculate record”, was bad.

The word “immaculate” broke the back of the camel.

On the day the story was published in Western Visayas, the Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI) reported on its front page that Loreto-Garin, 42, was also being investigated for her alleged involvement in the anomalous use of millions of pesos in funds of the defunct National Agri-Business Corp.(Nabcor).

“So far, Loreto-Garin has been doing a fine job as acting secretary for almost three weeks now. We hope she maintains this reputation now that her fellow DOH officials appear to be heading to the Hall of Shame,” I wrote in that article which also came out in my blog (http://alexpvidal.blogspot.com/2014/11/did-loreto-garin-inherit-top-post-of.html).

Her alleged involvement in the scam actually happened when she was still a member of the House of Representatives representing the first district of Iloilo, not during her stint as DOH undersecretary.

Loreto-Garin was implicated last March by former Nabcor officials Rhodora Mendoza and Victor Cacal as among the lawmakers who allegedly benefited from the Nabcor funds intended to be used for “technical studies” for rice harvest improvement but ended up in the politicians’ campaign kitties instead.

PORK

Loreto-Garin immediately denied receiving pork barrel funds and vowed to resign from the DOH should authorities prove her participation in the anomalous transaction.

She dismissed the allegations as “baseless and malicious.”

Garin’s legislative district also cropped up as among the areas that benefited from the “fertilizer fund scam,” which involved the diversion of about P728 million to former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s campaign fund during the 2004 election period.

The timing of the report on Loreto-Garin’s alleged involvement in Nabcor funds anomaly was also suspect.

It rolled off the press two weeks after she was installed as acting DOH secretary when “sick” Secretary Enrique Ona went on leave last October 29.

The story was also played up in the national media several days after it was reported that the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has been investigating since June the DOH's purchase of expensive vaccines in 2012 despite a recommendation to buy more cost-effective ones.

Known as the “DOH vaccine mess”, it implicated Ona and Assistant Secretary Eric Tayag.

The deal was reportedly “contrary to the recommendation of the National Center for Pharmaceutical Access and Management (NCPAM), the Formulary Executive Council (FEC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) which recommended PCV 13 which is said to be more cost-effective.”

INSIDERS

Did some DOH insiders orchestrate the release of the story about Loreto-Garin’s alleged involvement in the Nabcor funds anomaly to divert public attention on the mess Ona and Tayag were in?

Was it intended to derail Loreto-Garin’s possible appointment as full-fledged DOH secretary just in case Ona could not anymore regain his post?

Loreto-Garin herself smelled fish with the timing of the disclosure of the Nabcor funds mess investigation even as she denied allegations her appointment in the DOH was politically motivated.

“These past few days, there were insinuations that my designation as acting secretary is all about politics. I call on Secretary Ona and Undersecretary Teodoro Herbosa to refute this. They know the truth. I admit, I was a politician but does that prevent me from serving our country? I am not perfect but I was able to do a lot of good things when I was a congresswoman,” she said.

Without the Nabcor funds ruckus, my November 12 article would have been prophetic: Loreto-Garin to remain as the only DOH bigwig untarnished by issue of graft and corruption.

Now that the hornet’s nest has been stirred, both Ona, Tayag and Loreto-Garin are on the same dilemma.

They are all now facing investigation for alleged anomalies.

Until their guilt has been established, it’s too premature to call them as members of the DOH’s "Hall of Shame."

Ex-city LEEO chief being singled out in anomalies

“I don't blame people who suspect my performance. My own mind suspects it. How can I blame them?” Sri Chinmoy

By Alex P. Vidal

Either he is a victim of black propaganda by some people who want to ease him out from the graces of Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog or he really is a crook.

First, Vicente de la Cruz was linked to the murder of a young lady, a single parent shot to death outside a big mall in Iloilo City on January 27, this year.

Then he was relieved of his post as Local Economic Enterprise Office (LEEO) chief.

Reportedly on a “floating status” after being assigned in the city mayor’s office, de la Cruz is now being accused as one of the “tuklo” (thief) masterminds in the city public markets.

In a recent city council committee on public market hearing, de la Cruz’s name surfaced as among those behind the alleged city public market anomalies.

Whistle-blower and committee chair Rodel Agado called for the investigation on suspicion that de la Cruz was being pampered by Mabilog.

Media also lashed at Agado for his refusal to name names after he aired the “tuklo” brouhaha on several interviews this year.

ANSWER

De la Cruz did not answer his critics in relation to the mall murder where his former casual worker, Enrico Robles Jr., was said to be the triggerman that killed Frances Lei Reyes, a 22-year-old resident of Oton, Iloilo.

But de la Cruz broke his silence when his name was mentioned in the committee hearing November 13 in relation to the tuklo issue.

“Ambot. Waay ko kabalo pero. I’m sure nga waay ko ‘ya gapanuklo (I don’t know about that and I’m sure I am not stealing),” he swore.

De la Cruz insisted that he never awarded stalls contrary to allegations and “I know that for a fact.”

He admitted though that he allowed interested vendors to temporarily occupy empty stalls sans awarding and letting them pay cash tickets “for the interest of the city”.

The local market law did not prohibit such practice, de la Cruz added.

“Kanugon lang sang empty stalls kun indi magamit kag makolektahan sang city,” de la Cruz told the committee investigation.

Accountable Officer Emmalene Diana claimed de la Cruz ordered LEEO job hire Fedelyn Villalobos to issue illegal receipts to a certain “Lilia Cordova” for her stall rentals from January to February 2014.

RECEIPTS

The receipts were tagged under Diana’s name.

Diana included de la Cruz’s alleged order in the affidavit she submitted to the executive department’s market committee and Agado’s committee.

“Cordova” had arrears from July 2011 to Dec. 2013 amounting to more than P100,000 and must not be issued receipts for January to February 2014, according to Virgilio Tunogbanua, Iloilo Terminal Market in-charge.

De la Cruz asserted that he never ordered anyone to issue receipts to Cordova.

“I have not done anything that would affect the collection of the city,” he added.

Now that de la Cruz has been allowed his day in court, critics should give him now the benefit of the doubt.

In fairness to de la Cruz, if his guilt has not been proven yet, detractors should refrain from making speculations so as not to muddle the issues leveled against him and his alleged cohorts.