After a good win against the aggressive Russian Provodnikov, Chris Algieri has been given the chance to show his skills against the legendary Manny ‘Pacman’ Pacquiao. He has notable wins over Emmanuel Taylor and, as mentioned above, Ruslan Provodnikov. Apart from these 2 wins Algieri hasn’t really fought anyone who can be considered a top contender. So it is difficult to understand why Pacquiao has been given the go ahead to fight the 20-0 (8) contender.
Manny Pacquiao will be defending his WBO welterweight title with a record of 56-5-2 (38). Pacquiao’s last 3 fights have been against top opposition. One loss against Marquez, one win against Brandon Rios and one win against ex-undefeated contender, Timothy Bradley. Pacquiao looked fairly good in all three of these fights. Even in his KO loss to Marquez, Pacquiao was easily beatin Marquez with his blistering speed and great footwork up until the 6th round. The Rios fight was a walk in the park for Pacquiao as he used he greater hand speed and lightening fast combinations to overwhelm the very passive Brandon Rios. In his 2nd fight against Timothy Bradley, both seemed to be evenly matched. I thought it was a draw or even a slight win for Bradley but the powers that be had the fight in favor of Manny Pacquiao. Some of the score cards were a bit suspect but that can be discussed another day.
When the 22nd of November comes, Chris Algieri will definitely have the advantage in height and reach. He will use his solid jab to set Pacquiao up with 1-2 combinations. As with the Provodnikov fight, Algieri will need to keep circling around Pacquiao to ensure that he can never fire off more than 1 or 2 punches. Compared with Provodnikov, Pacquiao isn’t as good at cutting off the ring and with his age, will not be as mobile as he used to be so it’ll will be difficult to catch the slippery, 5’10, long armed Algieri.
Manny Pacquiao will have to follow Algieri around the ring in order for him to land punches because he lacks the height and reach to wait for Algieri to come to him. To win the fight Pacquiao will need to somehow force Algieri onto the ropes or into the corners and then unload rapid combinations. Even with a low knockout rate, Algieri could catch Pacquiao with a right hand and send the Filipino onto the canvas. So Pacquiao must also make sure to remember his defense.
I have a feeling that Algieri will win a Unanimous decision unless Pacquiao can catch Algieri in the early rounds. Which is entirely possible, especially after the Provodnikov fight.
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