Can Pacquiao handle foe’s new weapon?

The prefight scenario has suddenly shifted to frames of Chris Algieri talking big, bolder and Manny Pacquiao working hard, harder.

It’s not exactly that Algieri has turned in a sharper mouth, but the unbeaten New Yorker exceeded expectations with his latest claim that his fabulous jab, earlier touted to neutralize Pacquiao, will no longer be his main weapon.

Algieri: “My ability to adjust and find a way to win. A lot of people think about the jab and whatnot. I don’t think that’s my best asset. My best asset is being able to adjust in a fight, adjusting to any situation and finding a way to win.”

Fine, although wholly lacking in specifics.

Not a case of changing horses at midstream actually, because Algieri would surely be riding on his over-advertised jab in launching his new intangible weapon.

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Problems: How does Algieri hope to adjust, shift, move out or strike back once Pacquiao blazes and digs in hard. And how does he jump out of harm’s way, handle, duck or avoid firebombs coming from practically all directions.

Pacquiao: “I expect him to run. I have to stop him from running. I know what I have to do. If I throw 1-2-3-4 combinations, I don’t think he will just stand there to get hit. I’ll chase him down. Maybe attack the body so he loses his quickness. But if he’s quick, I think I am quicker.”

Unlike Algieri, Pacquiao has been quite frank and detailed with his strategy since Day One.

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For one, it was no secret how Pacquiao has been working excessively hard for the Nov. 23 defense of his World Boxing Organization welterweight crown against Algieri in Macau.

There were, in fact, fears Pacquiao could overtrain, but these were readily quelled with an assurance that everything has been on schedule in his General Santos City camp.

Meanwhile, Algieri has himself affirmed he would be in super form come fight time.

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If there’s any difference, Pacquiao has openly defined his offensive plot, built around feared and tested aggressiveness; while Algieri has sent many experts speculating with his shift in strategy.

For whatever it’s worth, Algieri’s freshly revealed weapon cannot be sneezed at. At its intangible best, Algieri seemed to suggest he could be untouchable, if not exactly invisible, inside the ring.

It’s up to Pacquiao to prove that fantasy is no match against reality inside the boxing ring.