Chris Algieri was a largely unknown prospect in boxing, despite his world title kickboxing background, until he outpointed Ruslan Provodnikov in his twentieth professional fight.
Algieri gained a lot of fans that June night after surviving a two-knockdown first round, which left his eye swollen shut the remainder of the 12-round championship bout.
With that being his biggest win to date and going from a “who’s that,” to a real contender, many have asked if Algieri deserves his shot at Manny Pacquiao, whom he faces Saturday, Nov. 22, at The Venetian in Macau, China.
Former two-time Pacquiao foe, Timothy Bradley thinks that the question to whether or not Algieri earned his shot at Pacman is a no-brainer.
“Most definitely,” Bradley said. ” Algieri earned his spot.”
Having faced Pacquiao twice and going 1-1, losing his last time out in April against the Filipino star, Bradley said Pacquiao is different than he was when he was younger in the ring.
“Pacquiao today is more of thinking Pacquiao,” Bradley stated. “Since his knockout loss to Marquez he doesn’t come in reckless or with a gang of shots. He is thinking about his plan of attack.”
Bradley fought off the ropes for much of the second bout against Pacquiao, something that he strongly discourages Algieri from doing Saturday night.
“You don’t want to be against the ropes against Pacquiao,” he said. “His footwork is like no other in boxing. He throws punches while he is moving.”
Algieri has been praised for his solid, fundamentally sound boxing style, using effective footwork and his length, which could be a big advantage over Pacquiao (72″ to 67″) in the bout.
“I think after watching video tape of Algieri he’s going to give Pacquiao a lot of problems,” Bradley said. “Algieri has excellent movement and range. If he is able to control distance inside the ring, it’s a problem for Pacquiao.”
Pacquiao vs. Algieri happens Saturday, November 22 live on pay-per-view beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT.
