Algieri: I’m going to beat a legend [Pacquiao]

Undefeated light welterweight Chris Algieri (20-0, 8 KOs) says he knows had the talent to defeat WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao (56-5-2, 38 KOs) for ages ever since he saw him fight Tim Bradley a couple of years ago. He saw the flaws in Pacquiao’s game even then, and obviously he hasn’t improved in the last two years since the first fight. Pacquiao has aged since the first fight with Bradley, and he’s now getting close to 36-years-old.

“I’m really in it and focused at the task at hand. I’m going out there to beat Manny Pacquiao and to beat a legend,” Algieri said via CBSSports.com. “That’s the only thing on my mind.”

For Algieri to be saying that he’s confident of going out there and retiring Pacquiao, he must feel pretty confident about this fight. Algieri wouldn’t be saying that he knows he can beat Pacquiao if he didn’t feel absolutely certain that he can accomplish that task. He’s watched enough of Pacquiao’s fights to know that he can beat him.

Algieri saw the same thing after watching some of Ruslan Provodnikov’s previous fights. He knew he could beat the Russian fighter, and sure enough that’s exactly what he did in defeating him by a 12 round decision last June. You’ve got to believe that Algieri knows what he’s talking about when he says he can beat Pacquiao. If he says he can do it then he probably can.

Pacquiao still has fast hands, but his ability to motor around the ring isn’t the same that it once was. He’s short and he’s going to be fighting a much taller fighter in the 5’10” Algieri. Pacquiao will struggle badly in trying to get to him, and I wouldn’t be surprised if develops leg cramps at some point while trying to chase him down.

Algieri plans on jabbing Pacquiao silly on November 22nd in their fight in Macao, China. He says his jab is the great equalizer and with that tool he’s going to take away Pacquiao’s speed and power advantage.