Algieri hasn?t proven anything substantive yet, at least not in the meat ?n potatoes department, and therefore isn?t up to snuff for an opponent like Pacquiao?
Christopher Algieri got beat-up by Ruslan Provodnikov last June, but got away with one in a split-decision because two judges with Golden-Gloves/Olympic-type scoring criteria favored the prancing ex-kickboxer. Olympic boxing (scoring) differs from professional boxing (scoring) the way breakfast at $tarbucks (lattes and scones), differs from the all-you-can-eat, $6.95 ham & egg special at Moe?s diner. As such, Algieri hasn?t proven anything substantive yet, at least not in the meat ?n potatoes department, and therefore isn?t up to snuff for an opponent like Pacquiao. For that matter, neither is he worthy of a PPV platform. The game and gutsy medical school wannabe is all sizzle and no steak, more of a shake-and-bake runner with fancy footwork and little punching power.
If Algieri was a bird, he?d be a Roadrunner, using speed and cunning to evade his come-to-fight Wile E Coyote opponents, dancing in circles while taking whip-lashing jabs at their jerking noggins. As an illusionist, Algieri is pleasing mostly to smoke-and-mirrors, herky-jerky, locomotion-susceptible judges and purist boxing types known to frequent $tarbucks. After all, every illusion does require a willing participant. In reality, much like Pac-Man, coyotes are faster than roadrunners, easy to run down in the open field a la Algieri. Algieri?s boxing inexperience will also be to his disadvantage. Martial arts and kickboxing don?t count as ring experience, but are to real boxing what soccer is to football (American-style), or what Olympic boxing is to boxing as we commonly know it.
Birds of unlike feather usually don?t flock together, but do make contrasting styles in combat. While Algieri is ?The Roadrunner,? Pacquiao is a hybrid, a cross between the in-and-out, back-and-forth, to-and-fro darting of a Hummingbird, and the lightning-quick spearing accuracy of a Great Heron. Therefore, look for the shifty Filipino to box, punch, move and cut off the ring on his overmatched, outclassed and overrated opponent. Once Pac-Man solves Algieri?s style, he?ll sooner cut loose with a confusing fusillade of body and head shots that inevitably break-down his game but lesser foe, eventually causing the referee or ring doctor to stop the fight somewhere between the 9th and 11th rounds.
In fighting Pacquiao, Algieri will discover that he?s in a very different league, one that will prove to be his boxing comeuppance. Only a master can initiate a novice, and that in a trial by fire. The only way Pacquiao can lose is if he?s not up for this fight, and/or has a lackluster performance.
If perchance Algieri wins, well, you can tickle me with a feather. . . a roadrunner feather.
