Former two-time boxing champ Gerry Penalosa, seen after knocking out Ratanachai Sor Vorapin in 2008, doesn’t feel Chris Algieri can give Pacquiao a real fight. Photo by Mike F. Alquinto/EPA MANILA, Philippines – Former two-time boxing champion Gerry Pe?alosa isn?t convinced of New Yorker Chris Algieri?s chances of giving a credible challenge to eight-division champ Manny Pacquiao when the two clash on Sunday, November 23 (Saturday US time) at the Venetian Resort in Macau.
The WBO junior welterweight titleholder Algieri (20-0, 8 knockouts) of Long Island, N.Y. rose from anonymity a month ago, upsetting Ruslan Provodnikov in his first major fight, utilizing his height advantage and a busy jab to overcome two first round knockdowns and a right eye that was shut for 11 rounds. (RELATED: Chris Algieri, Manny Pacquiao’s next foe, not your typical boxer)
Still, Pe?alosa feels fighting Provodnikov and the reigning Boxing Writers Association of America Fighter of the Decade are two completely different tasks.
?(Algieri) is not that worthy, he keeps on running. Manny will just play with him,? the former WBC junior bantamweight and WBO bantamweight champion Pe?alosa tells Rappler. ?Algieri is good but simply not good enough for Pacquiao.
?You cannot compare Manny to Provodnikov. Manny is the pound-for-pound king. Provodnikov can punch but that?s about it. Algieri impressed me in that fight, imagine he was down twice and showed the stamina to come back. Ruslan can punch and he?s like a monster in the ring but his defense is not as good as Pacquiao.?
The San Carlos City, Philippines native Pe?alosa, who retired in 2010 with a 55-8-2 (37 knockouts) record, has been a long-time Pacquiao associate, having employed a then-unknown Pacman as a sparring partner years before he emerged as one of the world?s most celebrated athletes with victories over Marco Antonio Barrera, Oscar de la Hoya and Miguel Cotto.
Pacquiao (56-5-2, 38 KOs) has rebounded from back-to-back losses in 2012 with two straight victories over Brandon Rios and Timothy Bradley to ascend to the number 4 spot on THE RING magazine?s pound-for-pound list. Algieri, meanwhile, is rated number 3 in RING?s junior welterweight rankings where unbeaten American Danny Garcia holds the recognized championship.
