What’s a Seawolf? Well, when someone sports a Seawolves snapback hat in his intro, wears it all the way up until the bell and then has the university emblem on his shorts, that would be a way to describe that person.

Chris Algieri brought the community of Seawolves faithful to a halt on Saturday night as he fought arguably the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world in Manny Pacquiao, but fell short of taking the World Welterweight Champion’s belt from him.

The Stony Brook graduate fell in a unanimous decision, with two judges’ cards reading 119-103 and the final judge’s card reading 120-102 on the fight in Macau on what was Saturday night in the United States.

“He is very good at being Manny Pacquiao. and Manny Pacquiao is a hell of a fighter,” the 2007 graduate of Stony Brook University said after the fight. “He has perfected that style of fighting.”

The fight that was fourth on the main card and was billed as the main event did not start until after midnight on the East Coast.

Even then, it still drew the attention of many big names around the community.

At the local bar The Bench, numerous big names were in attendance, including Stony Brook University President Samuel Stanley, Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone and former Stony Brook football player Miguel Maysonet.

Even though the decision in the end was lopsided, Pacquiao was able to win eight rounds by only one point.

The six knockdowns did not help Algieri, though he claimed he was not really hurt during the match.

“It’s not so much the punching power. It’s how he throws the punches,” Algieri said.

Throughout the match, Pacquiao seemed to be one step quicker than the Greenlawn native, as he was able to counter almost every punch that Algieri had.

He did credit Pacquiao with one big knockdown, which happened in the ninth round.

Algieri was able to land a left-hand hook, but Pacquiao came back with an even bigger one, sending Algieri to the mat.

Giving credit where it is due, Algieri stuck with Pacquiao in every round.

He was never really dominated in any particular round, showing the heart that the
university embodies.

He was able to weather the storm in the first four rounds, but was not able to mount a comeback, as he did in the Ruslan Provodnikov fight.

“The plan was to fight for the first four rounds. I knew he was going to come out strong,”
Algieri said.

Pacquiao came out strong, and stayed with it the entire fight.

He stayed with his trademark style of quick punches and quick feet, and Algieri’s movement was effective in dodging punches as well.

Algieri got pinned into the corner a few times, but was able to dodge out with little to no harm done.

He was also able to get Pacquiao with a few shots, including a couple nice hooks along with his trademark left jab.

“I think I caught him with a few shots that made him think,” Algieri said. “The plan was to get into the later rounds and landing shots that would hurt him.”

However, it did not seem like he was able to land those shots while Pacquiao was. That was the difference in the fight.

Whether it was the six knockdowns or the hooks and uppercuts to the head, Algieri was able to get back up and showcase his athleticism and spirit to keep going and take
Pacquiao the distance

This fight garnered the most attention to the university since the baseball team’s run to the 2012 College World Series.

And just like the guys on the diamond did that year, Algieri showed the world exactly what a Seawolf is.