Manny Pacquiao’s scheduled return fight on Nov. 22 in Macau, China, is still more than four months away but promoter Bob Arum seems to be in a hurry to secure a contract with Chris Algieri as Pacquiao’s next opponent. Algieri, who was a virtual unknown in the boxing community when he clinched a split decision victory over former Pacquiao’s sparring partner Ruslan Provodnikov, has called out Pacquiao immediately after his win over the rugged Russian fighter. Arum did not object to the proposed match despite Algieri’s untested skill and capability against rated and experienced fighters in his short professional career. Despite his unblemished record in 20 professional fights, Algieri’s credentials compared to Pacquiao’s career record are miles apart. Arum seems to be more impressed with Algieri’s educational background than with his skill and experience as a fighter.
?With Algieri, you don?t see many college graduates in professional boxing, particularly those who are able to become a champion. So, that alone, would make Algieri pretty unique,? said Arum. ?I?m intrigued by the fact that Algieri is a college kid who is very articulate and is somebody who is a credit to the sport. I think that?s more important to me than anything else.? Boxing fans as well as Pacquiao’s longtime trainer Freddie Roach suggest that Algieri settle the verdict controversy with Provodnikov in a rematch to be held in a neutral venue and if he wins, he can be more credible in calling out Pacquiao and share the spotlight with him in the ring.
“I’d rather like to see him fight a rematch first, and if he won it, and he won the fight clearly, then I think that he might deserve a fight like that,” said Roach. “Yeah. For Pacquiao, there’s not a lot of opponents out there right now.” Read more: Indeed there is a good number of opponents out there as Roach said but the truth is that only about three welterweight fighters under Arum’s Top Rank umbrella who can be tapped as Pacquiao’s next opponent which include, Juan Manuel Marquez Carlos Abregu and Jessie Vargas. Of the three, only a Marquez fight will sell. It appears that Arum isn’t sure at this time if he can tap fighters from Oscar de la Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions (GBP) because of legal complications following de la Hoya’s fallout with his former CEO Richard Schaefer. Algieri is not fighting under GBP’s umbrella and it would be easier for Arum to negotiate with his promoter as they have already known each other during the Algieri-Provonikov fight.
