Everyone likes Chris Algieri. He?s bright. He?s verbose. He?s attractive. He may even be the reincarnation of Gene Tunney?
Everyone likes Chris Algieri. He?s bright. He?s verbose. He?s positive. He?s attractive. He may even be, according to Bob Arum, the reincarnation of Gene Tunney.
He did beat Ruslan Providnikov fair and square, according to some, but the plaudits, however well deserved, have grown deafening, and Algieri, ably assisted by yes-men, is adding to the noise.
When Chris Algieri (20-0) meets Manny Pacquiao (56-5-2) on Nov. 22 in Macau, China, the underdog from Long Island says he?s ?100 percent? convinced that he will not only defeat Manny, but that he will knock the Pac Man out.
Pacquiao?s not getting any younger. Maybe he?s been softened up by a lifetime of fighting. Maybe the distractions of politics, the taxman?s intrusion, and the humanity of Christianity has eroded his killer instinct. But predicting a knockout is a wild claim coming from someone with only eight KOs to his credit.
Algieri is younger, taller and fresher than Pacquiao. He?s a boxer who won?t just stand there while Manny dances circles around him, firing punches at odd angles. That?s Algieri?s game?and it?s a game that two can play.
Confidence is integral to boxing. It doesn?t make boxing a confidence game per se, despite its fair share of bamboozle, but if one thinks one will lose, one has a better chance of losing than if one thinks one will win.
Algieri, whose confidence is off the charts, is mapping the future after he mops the floor with Manny. And to the surprise of no one, he wants to fight Floyd Mayweather when he?s done with Pacquiao.
?That?s where we?re looking,? he told RingTV.com.
Mayweather vs. Algieri is a pipe dream at the moment. There are obstacles to overcome, not least of which is Manny Pacquiao, before that fight can happen. And in dreams begin responsibilities, however fanciful those dreams, and their accompanying responsibilities, appear.
