Chris Algieri isn’t being given much of a chance to defeat superstar Manny Pacquiao on November 22 in Macau, China. The undefeated Algieri has never fought on pay-per-view against a fighter of Pacquiao’s caliber, nor has he fought in a foreign country where time zone variances drastically alter your training. The WBO, the sanctioning body which Algieri won the junior welterweight strap from when he upset Ruslan Provodnikov, also sees Algieri as a drastic underdog. This was made clear two days ago when they stripped Algieri of his title, a move usually not considered until the champion decides to remain at another weight (Writer’s Note: Algieri’s match against Pacquiao is at welterweight).
Below, Algieri speaks on the adjustments to his training regimen, and why a stay at welterweight just might be his best career move.
What type of challenges come with preparing for a fight on another continent with a much different start time? What’s at stake for the winner inside the welterweight division? What are your goals for the future in boxing?
It just means you have to do a lot more time management in terms of scheduling and thinking ahead. You can’t just wing it, but I don’t do that with any part of my training anyways, so it is of no concern to me. Also we will be fighting at noon over there, and that is exactly what time I always spar, so that will actually be better for me. I am a morning person so being able to fight during the day will actually play in my favor.
This is the top of the sport. The winner here goes on to make the biggest fights that are possible not only the welterweight division but in all of boxing. A win will propel me into the top of the pound-for-pound ratings and viewed as one of the best fighters in all of boxing.
At this point I want the biggest fights out there. I have spent a long time fighting off TV and outside of the public eye. Now I want that exposure and I want to fight the biggest names out there in boxing. I want to show that I belong here. It has taken me a long time to get to this point, and I don’t plan on leaving now that I am here.
24/7 Pacquiao/Algieri” premieres Saturday, Nov. 8 at 1:00 a.m. (ET/PT) on HBO immediately following the live World Championship Boxing event from Atlantic City.
Pacquiao vs. Algieri happens Saturday, November 22 live on pay-per-view beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT.
Beats, Boxing and Mayhem 