By Dan Ambrose: #6 WBO welterweight contender Chris Algieri (21-2, 8 KOs) says he wants to fight either Adrien Broner or #5 WBC in 2016. Algieri, 31, recently ended his 2-fight losing streak last December in defeating Erick Bone by a 10 round unanimous decision in a tougher than expected fight for Algieri.
Before that, Algeri had lost back to back fights to Amir Khan and Manny Pacquiao. The loss to Pacquiao was especially one-sided with Algieri getting knocked down six times in the fight in losing every round in their fight in November 2014.
Berto’s adviser Al Haymon might not be eager to put him in a fight against Algieri, because Berto is ranked high with the World Boxing Council at No.5, and he’s the perfect safe opponent for newly crowned WBC welterweight champion Danny Garcia to pad his resume with and hold onto his title. It’s a non-risky in house fight for Garcia if he faces the fellow Haymon-managed Berto. Algieri would have too much of a chance of beating Berto and making him look bad in the way that Floyd Mayweather Jr., Robert Guerrero and Jesus Soto Karass all did in beating him.
“That’s a great fight,” Algieri said about a fight against Berto to RingTV.com. “I think the timing for both of us is great. The style match-up is a great fight. I think it’s a fan-friendly fight. If we could find the venue and the right money for the both of us, I think that’s a fantastic fight, but we’ll see. It’s very preliminary right there.”
Algieri would likely beat Berto if that fight was to take place, and I think Haymon isn’t going to make that fight. Berto is someone that will probably be saved for Danny Garcia so that he can stay a champion as long as possible. If Haymon can feed Garcia guys like Berto and other fighters with inflated rankings and limited talent, he might be able to keep Garcia as a champion for a couple of years if he can get past Amir Khan.
That’s a fight that could happen next, but I have my doubts that Khan will take the fight. Algieri is one of those guys that are perfect for fighters that have good punching power and are in the prime of their careers. Garcia would likely do well against Algieri, but definitely not Berto. I think he would lose.
Adrien Broner is talking about wanting to fight 2nd tier fighter Ashley Theophane next. I don’t think he would drop that fight to take on a more difficult opponent like Algieri. I think Broner is looking to milk his new WBA light welterweight title right now, and Theophane would be a much too difficult a fight for him to accept it. Haymon also manages Broner and I don’t think he’s going to be interested in putting him in a risky fight that doesn’t pay a lot of money like a fight against Algieri would.
“I think that would be a really good fight for the fans because the lead-up and the build-up would be massive, massive,” Aligeri said about a fight against Broner.
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