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Manny Pacquiao will defend his WBO welterweight title on Saturday night in Macau, China, and the trash talk is in full swing. Both sides are stating their cases for superiority.
Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach is never at a loss for words when it comes to talking up the Filipino legend, and the pre-fight hype for Saturday's bout is no exception. Per Ryan Songalia of The Ring Magazine, Roach seems to believe that one of Pacquiao's sparring partners has a better jab than Algieri. He goes on to imply that Algieri isn't even on Pacquiao's level:
Freddie Roach says Pacquiao's sparring partner Viktor Postol has a better jab than Chris Algieri #boxing #pacalgieri
- Ryan Songalia (@ryansongalia) November 21, 2014
Freddie Roach says Chris Algieri 'doesn't belong in the same ring' with Manny Pacquiao #WatchOnTheGo @rapplerdotcom #pacalgieri
- Ryan Songalia (@ryansongalia) November 21, 2014
Algieri has drawn praise for his jab from the likes of successful trainer Virgil Hunter. Take a look at this awesome breakdown of the fight by HBO's Max Kellerman, Hunter and former Pacquiao foe Timothy Bradley.
If Postol truly has a better jab than Algieri, perhaps he should be more than Pacquiao's sparring partner.
Virgil says Algieri jab is nasty and snapping..but if he relies on it, leaves lane open for Manny left, no?
- Michael Woods (@Woodsy1069) November 21, 2014
Speaking of which, Algieri's most recent and biggest win came over a former Pacquiao sparring partner. Ruslan Provodnikov was known only for running Pac-Man through his paces before he gave Bradley all he could handle in 2013 and then stopped the rugged Mike Alvarado to capture a world title.
After flooring Algieri twice in the first round of their bout, Provodnikov was thoroughly outboxed the rest of the way. The jab was one of the primary weapons used by Algieri that night. It will need to be as good or better to befuddle the quicker Pacquiao on Saturday.
If anyone in Pacquiao's camp sees Algieri as a threat, they aren't showing it.
Roach has said that Pacquiao will finish Algieri in the very first round. That's a bold prediction and one that Algieri clearly finds insulting. He talks about it in this interview with ESNews Reporting's Elie Seckbach:
Chris Algieri Reaction To Roach Saying Manny Will KO Him In 1 Rd - esnew...: http://t.co/ZBAGs9aUM2 via @YouTube
- Elie Seckbach (@Seckbach) November 20, 2014
Algieri believes that Pacquiao and Roach are underestimating his speed. The former kickboxer demonstrated excellent feet against Provodnikov, but Pacquiao is much quicker than the Siberian. In the process of informing the media about his own speed, Algieri drew Bradley's ire by implying that 'Bradley isn't exactly known as a fast guy.'
Bradley responds classically in the video below:
Algieri is pretty fast, but he's delusional if he thinks he's faster than Bradley. As Bradley states, 'Algieri is taller but not faster.'
This brings up a strong point: Perhaps length is the key for Algieri. With a 3.5-inch height and a five-inch reach advantage, Algieri may not need to be as fast as Bradley to conquer Pacquiao. Physically, these guys are polar opposites-with the exception of weight-and their approach to combat might very well be just as different.
The banter is coming from all angles, and it is only adding to the hype for what might turn out to be a great fight. In the end, the only jabs that will count are the ones thrown in the ring.
Follow Brian Mazique on Twitter. I dig boxing and MMA.
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