‘Di iniisip ni Pacquiao ang knockout

MANILA, Philippines - Matapos ang limang taon, ito na nga ba ang pagkakataon para mu-ling makapagtala ng isang knockout win si Manny Pacquiao?

Ang dalawang beses na pagtumba ni Chris Algieri sa first round sa kanilang laban ni Ruslan Provodnikov noong Hun-yo ang nagpapatunay na mahina ang panga ng American challenger.

Sinabi kahapon ng 35-anyos na si Pacquiao na hindi niya prayoridad ang patulugin ang 30-anyos na si Algieri sa kanilang laban sa Nobyembre 22 sa The Venetian sa Macau, China.

“We cannot go into the fight thinking about the knockout. A knockout will not change the result of the fight as long as we get the win,” wika ni Pacquiao.

Noong Nobyembre 14, 2009 huling nagposte ng KO victory si Pacquiao matapos pabagsakin si Miguel Cotto sa 12th round para agawin sa Puerto Rican ang suot na WBO welterweight crown.

Idedepensa ni Pacquiao (56-5-2, 38 KOs) ang kanyang hawak na World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight title kontra kay Algieri (20-0-0, 8 KOs) sa Nobyembre 22.

“What we are trying to do right now is to get the focus in training and for the fight that people want to see. Chris Algieri is a very dangerous fighter and we are taking nothing for granted in this training camp,” sabi ni Pacquiao sa 5-foot-10 na si Algieri.

Bagama’t dalawang beses natumba sa first round ay nagawa pa rin ni Algieri na agawin ang WBO light welterweight title ni Provodnikov, dating sparmate ni Pacquiao, sa pamamagitan ng split decision victory.

“Well he was in against a big puncher and he got off the canvas twice after knockdowns. It is a tough thing to do. His eye was really damaged in that fight,” ani Roach kay Algieri. “Ruslan is a big puncher but he just got caught up looking for that one-punch knockout and I think that was the downfall in that fight for us.”

Sinabi ni Roach na ibang-iba si Pacquiao kay Provodnikov.

“I think Manny is a much more experienced fighter and a much more technical fighter, throws a lot more combinations and is a lot faster. He’s not as big as a one-punch knockout artist but Manny can hurt you when he wants to. Manny is also a great finisher and as I said before, Manny always finishes what he starts,” dagdag pa ng trainer.

Maglalaban sina Pacquiao at Algieri sa catchweight na 144 lbss. (RC)