Freddie Roach trained Ruslan Provodnikov for his fight against Chris Algieri in July, which Algieri won by split decision. Roach disagreed with the judges' decision at the time, and is now predicting Manny Pacquiao will earn his first knockout since November 2009 against the Long Island native
"We'll knock him out somewhere along the way," Roach said of Algieri. Provodnikov came close to finishing Algieri in Round 1, when he clocked him with a hard hook that immediately caused his eye to swell. Algieri's eye was closed by Round 4, yet he was able to outbox Provodnikov the rest of the way to earn the upset.
When asked about why Algieri was given such a big opportunity vs. Pacquiao, despite having just one major victory on his resume, Roach didn't say much besides directing reporters to ask Top Rank CEO Bob Arum.
"You have to ask Bob," Roach said. "I have no idea why he picked that guy. He told me that he beat Ruslan, and he's a good fight for Manny and that was it."
Pacquiao hasn't been able to recapture the knockout power that defined his historic run of fights beginning with an upset of Oscar De La Hoya, but after back-to-back losses Pacquiao rebounded with consecutive, dominant victories. Roach said that if Pacquiao maintains the aggressiveness he showed vs. Brandon Rios, Algieri shouldn't be an issue.
"He kicked the s**t out of Rios. The problem with Rios is, he is a punching bag. It was a great win and we'll see. Manny is coming down to a catch weight of 144 and he might be a little bit of a better punch at the lighter weight."
Algieri has countered doubters by citing his height and reach advantage over Pacquiao, as well as quickness many of his more recent opponents don't possess. That doesn't concern Roach either, who thinks Pacquiao is just another class of fighter.
"No it should be no problem for Pacquiao. It's like night and day. He's way above him."
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