Pacquiao dismisses Algieri, says he’s an ‘OK’ fighter

MANILA, Philippines – When the two met face-to-face at the first stop of their two-continent press tour, Chris Algieri towered over Manny Pacquiao. The 5-foot-10 WBO junior welterweight titleholder from Long Island, N.Y. was confident and unwavered by his first major press event, but the 5-foot-6 living legend from General Santos City, Philippines was quick to cut him down to size.

Speaking with assembled press at The Venetian in Macau, China, Pacquiao didn’t oversell his unbeaten opponent, who upset highly favored Russian Ruslan Provodnikov in his previous fight to win the title.

“He can box. I’m not saying he’s really good but he’s not bad. He’s okay,” said Pacquiao (56-5-2, 38 knockouts), who has won titles in eight divisions on Monday, August 25. “The biggest challenge for me is to fight another tall guy. I have to use my speed and footwork for this fight.”

Pacquiao hasn’t fought an opponent of Algieri’s height since his 2010 conquest of the 5-foot-11 Antonio Margarito at Cowboy Stadium in Arlington, Tex. Algieri is a very different style of fighter from the face-first brawler Margarito, whom Pacquiao battered for 12 rounds, as he relies heavily on his constant jab and movement.

The 30-year-old Algieri (20-0, 8 KOs) rose from obscurity in June, coming off the canvas twice in the first round and boxing through a badly swollen right eye to outpoint the former Pacquiao sparring partner Provodnikov to a split decision win. 

“This fight means a tremendous amount to me. I earned the right to be here. I bled for this,” said Algieri, a former kickboxing champion who holds a masters degree in Clinical Nutrition.

Freddie Roach, Pacquiao’s Hall of Fame trainer, was quick to remind all that your grades don’t matter in the prizefighting ring. “I know Chris [Algieri] has a master’s degree. But Manny has a Ph.D in boxing,” said Roach, a six-time Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) Trainer of the Year.

The 35-year-old Pacman will train for the third straight time in his hometown for this fight while also trying to balance his duties as a congressman in the Philippine province of Sarangani and being the player-coach of the Philippine Basketball Association team owned by Kia Motors. Pacquiao was drafted 11th overall in Sunday’s PBA Rookie Draft by Kia.

Roach told Rappler he and Pacquiao have agreed to put all basketball operations on hold four weeks prior to the fight to avoid injuries.

“Algieri is very hittable,” said Roach. “People don’t realize how fast [Pacquiao] is until they get in the ring with him, he does put his punches together very well. I think Algieri will get knocked out somewhere along the way.”

From Macau, the promotional tour will also stop in Shanghai, San Francisco, Las Vegas and Los Angeles before wrapping up on September 4 in New York.

The undercard will feature Olympic gold medalists Zou Shiming (5-0, 1 KO) of China and WBO featherweight titleholder Vasyl Lomachenko (2-1, 1 KO) of Ukraine. Lomachenko will defend his belt against Chonlatarn Piriyapinyo  (52-1, 33 KOs) of Thailand, while Zou, a highly popular fighter in China, will fight a title eliminator against Thai Kwanpichit OnesongchaiGym (27-0-2, 12 KOs). – Rappler.com