As the hype train rolls along for Manny Pacquiao’s megafight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. on May 2 at MGM Grand Garden Arena, boxer Chris Algieri tossed in his two cents worth.
He is not siding with the guy who defeated him convincingly last year.
“I’m going with who I’ve always [gone with]… Mayweather,” Algieri told BoxingScene.com.
When Algieri faced Pacquiao in November 2014, he ran straight into an offensive assault from Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao.
The former WBO light welterweight champion`fell to the mat six times in a very lopsided decision loss to Pacquiao.
READ: Pacquiao shows class against Algieri, retains WBO belt
Algieri said that Mayweather would pounce on Pacquiao’s miscues in the ring, but that wasn’t to say that the undefeated pound-for-pound king is a far superior fighter than the Filipino ring icon.
“I think it’s just a styles. Styles make fights. Floyd will be able to capitalize on the mistakes that Pacquiao makes to this day. Its just one of those things,” Algieri said in the same interview.
“I’m not saying that Floyd is a much greater fighter than Pacquiao is. They are both probably going to go down in history as being equally influential in the sport. But like I said, I think it’s just a styles thing. Floyd will be able to pick up on specific counters, control the distance and I think he’ll be able to capitalize on that all night long,” Algieri said.
He added that Mayweather has done his homework and can figure out how to counter Pacquiao’s aggressive style.
“I think he’s seen all of the things that Manny can do and Floyd is the best at figuring a fighter out-even before a fight happens,” Algieri said. “He [Pacquiao] still rushes in. I think Floyd will take advantage of that.” CC
For more updates on Pacquiao-Mayweather “Fight of the Century,” visit The Pacquiao Files.