Despite scoring an upset victory over Ruslan Provodnikov in a June fight and taking Provodnikov's WBC light welterweight title, Chris Algieri will enter the ring on November 22 in China as a lightly regarded underdog against Manny Pacquiao.
Fans unfamiliar with Algieri before the Provodnikov fight saw a boxer who likes to move constantly, keep threats at bay with his jab, and rarely trade. Algieri is warning those taking him lightly though not to discount his power.
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"I hit harder than people think," Algieri told BoxingScene.com adding that he believes Provodnikov felt his shots.
Algieri has stated previously that he is an adaptable fighter who bases fight plans on the opponent he's facing, but his best weapon is the jab and he told Boxing Scene that it will be used frequently vs. Pacquiao.
"I have special skills that I can keep up the whole fight," Algieri said. "I know how to use my reach advantage and my jab is key. This is boxing."
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Height and length-wise, Algieri is larger than almost all of Pacquiao's past opponents save Antonio Margarito, but that hasn't stopped Vegas oddsmakers from installing him as a 1 to 16 underdog. Algieri has expressed confidence, but recently Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach seemed confused as to why Algieri was even given the chance to face Pacquiao and predicted a knockout.
"We'll knock him out somewhere along the way," Roach said of Algieri. When asked why Algieri got the title shot, Roach directed the curious to ask Top Rank CEO Bob Arum.
"You have to ask Bob. 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."
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