Algieri is no slouch –
Sure, you’ve been hearing a lot about how Chris Algieri is lucky to be here, how he is a glorified clubfighter who got a lucky break against a true champ in Ruslan Provodnikov in his last fight, and how Pacquiao has had absolutely no problem with taller, rangier guys before. And while some of this may be true, it doesn’t really affect the fact that Algieri has the range (and the ability to make it count) and the level of activity to put Pacquiao in a lot of trouble. Sure, Oscar and Margarito (among others) were much taller than Pacquiao and were soundly beaten anyway. Algieri is certainly not going to make their same mistakes, and even though it’s going to be hard for him to win as the “aggressor in retreat” that he was forced to become in the Provodnikov bout due to his grueling eye swelling, he may try that strategy during generous portions of the fight and gain a good measure of success in doing so. Not exactly a winning strategy or a reason to bet your rent money on him, but it will be interesting to see how both men will react going into the final stretch with a very close decision on the line. If Algieri chooses to outbox Pacquiao from a distance, things may get interesting.
http://youtu.be/JNZ01XqDy8k
