Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao takes on Chris “The King of New York” Algieri on November 22 from The Venetian Macao. Algieri, who earned a shot to fight Pacquiao after a somewhat tendentious split decision victory over Ruslan Provodnikov, may have to construct a new nickname come fight night.
Former IBF Welterweight title holder Shawn Porter is one fighter who is intrigued about the matchup of offense vs. defense.
“I am looking forward to this fight. Algieri has shown that he has some good footwork and some good boxing ability,” said Porter. “I like that about him. He is a great kid.”
For Porter and many other experts in the sport, it is a no brainer that Manny Pacquiao is no pushover. “For Manny, we know his statistics and what he has done in the ring,” added Porter.” “Overall, this is going to be a more exciting fight than people are expecting.” “I do expect this to be a decision in Manny’s favor,” he added.
Chris Algieri is by no means a cinch, but comes into the bout as a huge underdog. Porter explains that it is due to his lack of visibility in the boxing world, but that could all change after November 22nd. “He is a big underdog because people are not aware of who he is,” said Porter. “Take into account that Manny does not fight like Provodnikov and in many ways fights better.”
At the end of his bout with Ruslan Provodnikov, Chris Algieri’s right eye looked like something out of a science fiction film. Porter expects Pacquiao to go after that right eye.“You expect the things that did happen to Algieri to be way worse,” said Porter.
However, Porter still expects Algieri to come into the bout clean of distractions and show the boxing world what he is made of. “I think he is going to come in with a good head,” said Porter. “He is going to be strong and show everybody that he is a good boxer.”
Chris Algieri comes into the bout as the taller man (5 ft. 10) compared to Pacquiao (5 ft. 6 ½). Porter does not expect size to be an issue at all for Pacquiao. I do not think size will be an issue,” added Porter. “Manny is short, but he is also a southpaw.” “At the end of the day, Manny will be able to handle the range and height and it will not be much of a problem,” he added.
The question will always come up no matter where they are at, but when will Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao finally meet in the ring? Porter, like many of us, simply cannot answer the question. “I don’t know,” said Porter. “If it happens, it happens. If it doesn’t, there are plenty of bigger fights out there in the world.”
