Manny Pacquiao (R) of the Philippines punches Chris Algieri of the U.S. during their World Boxing Organisation (WBO) 12-round welterweight title fight at the Venetian Macao hotel in Macau November 23, 2014.
Manny Pacquiao (R) of the Philippines punches Chris Algieri of the U.S. during their World Boxing Organisation (WBO) 12-round welterweight title fight at the Venetian Macao hotel in Macau November 23, 2014. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu (CHINA - Tags: SPORT BOXING)
Manny Pacquiao (R) of the Philippines punches Chris Algieri of the U.S. during their World Boxing Organisation (WBO) 12-round welterweight title fight at the Venetian Macao hotel in Macau November 23, 2014. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu (CHINA - Tags: SPORT BOXING)

Filipino boxing champion Manny Pacquiao proved on Saturday night that he is not over the hill by defending his WBO welterweight title in a 12-round bout against American boxer Chris Algieri at the Cotai Arena in Macau.

The southpaw dominated the fight, although he failed to knock out his 30-year-old opponent from New York who tasted his first defeat and broke his 20-0 record. With his win, Pacquiao further improved his fight record to 56-5.

The three judges unanimously gave the fight to Pacquiao with scores of 119-103, 119-103 and 120-102. Their decision is not surprising since boxing sites like Ringtv, on its round-by-round updates, gave almost all 12 rounds to the Filipino boxer, except for Round 5.

Pacquiao proved that his experience and speed is superior over Algieiri's youth and height as the 35-year-old eight-division champ dominated the fight. The Wall Street Journal, in its coverage, reported that by Round 9, Algieri - whose trainers boasted that the New Yorker would make boxing history and end Pacquiao's boxing career - was in all sorts of trouble.

Even mid-way through the fight, fans tweeted that the bout was lopsided in favor of Pacquiao. Gauthem Nagesh, quoted by the WSJ, tweeted, "Scores are academic at this point. Algieri either needs a Hail Mary overhand right to stop Pacquiao, or he's just trying to survive."

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The WSJ stressed that while it was a clear victory for Pacquiao, the battle "won't go down as one of the greatest fights in history."

Noting the difficult-to-fathom strategy of Algieri, the daily pointed out "When you don't have much power, there is not much you can do when you're in there with someone with a punch like Pacquiao."

But WSJ also noted that Pacquiao didn't knock out his opponent because despite his killer jabs, the champ doesn't like to hurt his foes which irritated his trainer Freddie Roach.

Algieri acknowledged his defeat and said in a tweet "@MannyPacquiao is the best in the world."

For his part, Pacquiao said he is ready to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr in 2015 if the dream match would finally take place.