Chris Algieri, fresh off a shocking upset over Ruslan Provodnikov for the WBO light welterweight title in June, is making another giant leap on November 22 when he will fight arguably one of the greatest fighters of all time in Manny Pacquiao. While the Long Island-born boxer knows he will be a big underdog again, he is saying his style will cause Pacman big problems.
"I said before the Ruslan fight that he's never fought someone like me -- someone who's long, tall, strong and athletic with good boxing skills," Algieri told media in Long Island. "Neither has Manny."
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Algieri is moving up to fight at welterweight for the first time in his career, and is doing it against a legend, but he is still one of the largest opponents of Pacquiao's career, second only to Antonio Margarito. Pacquio demolished Margarito in their 2010 fight, and Algieri doesn't have Margarito's stopping power, but he's also much quicker and more elusive.
"Margarito was a large guy, but not an athletic guy," Algieri said. "Not a guy who's going to be moving, pushing, pulling, using his jab, reaching. He's a straightforward slugger there to be hit. Manny kills those guys."
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When he talked about himself, Algieri touted his own strength despite a reputation for sticking and moving as opposed to trading shots.
"Manny has a lot of fights and a lot of experience, but the string of guys he's fought over the last five, six, seven, eight years are all the same kind of guys. I do believe my style is a problem for him. And he'll be 36 [in December]. It's tough to learn a new style or to deal with something you're not accustomed to, which I wholeheartedly will bring to the table."
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