By Chris Williams: WBO 140 pound champion Chris Algieri (20-0, 8 KOs) thinks people don’t realize how hard he can punch. He says he got the attention of Ruslan Provodnikov with his power shots in their fight last June in beating him by a 12 round decision.
Algieri brings a lot to the table with his height and reach that he plans on using against WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao (56-5-2, 38 KOs) on November 22nd in Macao, China. But it’s Algieri’s power that could open some eyes in this fight when he starts connecting on his shots against Pacquiao.
“I hit harder than people think. I have special skills which I can keep up the whole fight,” Algieri said to the Manilastandardtoday.com. “I know how to use my reach advantage and my jab is the key. This is boxing.”
If Algieri can stop moving long enough to sit down on his shots on November 22nd, he could stun Pacquiao. Algieri will need to make sure he focuses on watching Pacquiao’s eyes after he hits him, becaue if his eyes roll over white then that’s signal for him to go after him with a flurry of punches to take him out. Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach might have to throw in the towel if it gets too bad. He obviously doesn’t want Pacquiao to be left face down on the canvas like in his fight against Juan Manuel Marquez.
Pacquiao was shook up in his last fight against little Tim Bradley after getting hit with a hard right hand last April, and Bradley can’t punch. Seeing Pacquiao stunned by Bradley tells me that his chin might not have fully recovered from his vicious 6th round knockout loss to Juan Manuel Marquez in 2012. Pacquiao hasn’t fought anybody that can punch since that fight, and he hasn’t fought anyone that you could call a good fighter.
Bradley is more of a pumped up light welterweight than an actual welterweight. Even at 140, Bradley couldn’t punch, and he lost whatever little power he had in moving up to 147.
Brandon Rios, who Pacquiao whipped last November, was like a slow moving punching bag with arms and legs attached. He didn’t test Pacquiao’s chin because he was too slow to land his shots, and the ones that he did land were harmless. Rios is basically a lightweight who ate his way to welterweight instead of grew up to the weight. He still has his lightweight power but he’s even slower than he was back then.
Algieri will have a hard time getting a decision against Pacquiao unless he does something special like knocking him down two to three times in the fight. Just boxing and moving and boxing likely won’t be enough.
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