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MANILA, Philippines – Chris Algieri will not walk to the ring against Manny Pacquiao as a reigning world champion.
The 30-year-old New Yorker was forced to vacate his World Boxing Organization (WBO) junior welterweight title ahead of his November 23 clash with Pacquiao at The Venetian in Macau. Algieri (20-0, 8 knockouts) won the title earlier this year with an upset split decision victory over Ruslan Provodnikov.
The news stunned Algieri’s promoters, who say they took the fight with the understanding that Algieri would remain a titleholder at 140 pounds regardless of the outcome of his fight with WBO welterweight champion Pacquiao (56-5-2, 38 KOs), which will be fought at a catchweight of 144.
“We were stunned when we heard the news,” said Joe DeGuardia of Star Boxing. “We’re going to have to get this cleared up. Because it was my understanding that this fight wouldn’t affect Chris’ championship status at junior welterweight.
The decision of the Puerto Rico-based WBO means that Algieri has lost his title without ever defending it. A request for comment from the WBO was not returned but the decision coincides with news that Mikey Garcia will be vacating the WBO’s 130 pound title to move to 140.
Algieri is currently in Las Vegas finishing up preparations for his first million dollar fight and has been sparring with fellow New Yorkers Zab Judah and Mike Brooks. Judah is a two-division champion who was briefly in the Pacquiao opponent picture after Pacquiao defeated Shane Mosley in 2011 while Brooks (10-2-1, 2 KOs) is recovering from consecutive losses.
“There’s only one Manny Pacquiao,” Algieri tells Fight Hub TV when asked about finding sparring partners to simulate Pacquiao’s style. “There’s nobody out there that fights like him. But we can take different aspects of his style and find partners that have done that.”
The fight will be Algieri’s first outside of New York while the 8-division champion from the Philippines will be fighting in Macau for the second time. Algieri says he isn’t intimidated about fighting in front of a hostile crowd and how it may sway the judges.
“I’m not really overly concerned about that. I’m just focused on doing what I need to do. I think if I go out there and I win every round the way I’m planning to or want to, then it can’t be close,” said Algieri.
“I don’t plan for close fights. I plan for tough fights.” – Rappler.com
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