Unbeaten challenger Chris Algieri won’t engage Manny Pacquiao in a slugfest but intends to pile up the points fighting from a distance.
“I’m not built to go in there and stand in front of a man and trade bombs,” Algieri told the website thanational.ae. “Why would I do that when I’ve got length, I’ve got range, I’ve got speed and I’ve got footwork and defense.”
The 5-foot-10 Algieri towers over Pacquiao by four inches and, with a 72-inch wingspan, holds a five-inch edge in reach over the Filipino, a champion in eight division who will be staking his WBO welterweight crown on Nov. 23 in Macau.
Algieri has obviously learned his lesson from his showdown with Russian Ruslan Provodnikov, whom he beat by split decision to wrest the WBO light welterweight crown, last June.
Algieri dared pit his power against Provodnikov and barely survived two knockdowns in the first round. He is expected to skip that strategy against Pacquiao, who is decidedly faster and hits stronger.
In an interview with thaboxingvoice.com, chief trainer Tim Lane said that Algieri has become more of a boxer than a regular fighter.
Lane said Algieri can box and beat anybody in his weight class or those who are two weight classes above him.
Though widely regarded as a technical boxer, Algieri has assured fans that they won’t be seeing a boring fight at The Venetian Macao.
Algieri, who is five years younger than Pacquiao at 30, promised to be active and throw a lot of punches in the HBO pay-per-view bout.
His training in Las Vegas over, Algieri and his team left the United States via Los Angeles Wednesday night and will be arriving in Macau Friday, two days before the Team Pacquiao entourage arrives in two AirAsia A320s.