It’s often said there’s a fine line that separates confidence and arrogance. In the mind of Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach, the Welterweight title challenger from Huntington, New York, just crossed it.
When asked for his prediction concerning this Saturday night’s main event between Manny Pacquiao and Chris Algieri, the always candid boxing mentor didn’t pull any punches.
“One round,” stated trainer Freddie Roach to various members of the media during a public workout. When asked why he felt that way, the heralded fight trainer gave a vintage “Freddie Roach” response. “Because I don’t like him. He’s too cocky.”
Leading into the highly anticipated PPV event at the Venetian Macao’s Cotai Arena, Algieri has been noticeably confident when discussing his date with the eight division world champion. Many ringside observers believe that the relative unknown from Long Island may be a little too confident before stepping in the ring with the Filipino icon and future Hall of Fame fighter.
Elite level trainer Ronnie Shields feels that over-confidence may serve the 30 year old title challenger well in this Saturday night’s main event.
“Over confidence isn’t a bad thing when you’re the underdog,” claims the Houston, Texas, based boxing coach. “Especially when you’re a big underdog. That means that he’s planning to get in the ring and fight.”
“If he were the kind of guy that sounded like a mere opponent, like a fighter who was just happy to be there, then trust me it would be a very boring fight. Aglieri may be over-confident, but it may work for him in this fight.”
Coach Ronnie believes that Algieri is smart enough to understand what will ultimately be at stake this Saturday night when he steps in the ring with one of the sport’s biggest stars.
“This is the chance of a lifetime for this kid. How many opportunities like this does a fighter get throughout his career? So of course he’s going to be confident…he has to be in a situation like this.”
“If this kid can take Manny’s best shot and keep fighting, it could be a long night for Pacquiao. That’s what’s so intriguing about this fight and the sport in general. We’ll have to wait and see how this fight plays out.”
Is Chris Algieri confident or arrogant leading into the November 22nd bout with the Filipino icon, and will it equate to a huge upset or a massive calamity for the Huntington, New York native?
Fight fans will find out this Saturday night.
