Chris Algieri likes his chances against Manny Pacquiao in their upcoming match on November 22 at the Venetian Hotel in Macau, but former welterweight champion Randall Bailey believes that it is close to a no contest.
Bailey, a former light welterweight and welterweight champion, said in an interview that the Pacquiao-Algieri showdown is a mismatch in favor of the Filipino boxing icon, saying that Algieri does not have the skill set to score an upset win.
"It's just a fight for Pacquiao. The guy has limited skills," Bailey said of Algieri. "He's not in the same level and does not belong in the same ring."
Algieri won the WBO junior welterweight title against Ruslan Provodnikov in June via a split decision win, but Bailey believes that the Huntington, New York native is not experienced enough to become a threat to the reigning pound-for-pound king.
"Provodnikov was his first big fight, a guy that comes forward," Bailey said. "If Pacquiao comes out the way he's supposed to fight then either the referee stops it or his (Algieri) corner does."
On the contrary, Bailey pointed out that Pacquiao has seen it all in his entire boxing career - and his vast experience on top of the ring combined with his speed and punching power will be enough to dominate Algieri.
"He's been in a lot of tough fights. It's just a matter of time before his body wears down from all the training, press cons and build ups. Algieri is no Antonio Margarito or Timothy Bradley. The fight is made for Pacquiao," Bailey said.
But despite being counted out by most boxing analysts, Algieri is still convinced that he has what it takes to win against a fighter of Pacquiao's caliber.
Algieri's agent, Joe DeGuardia, also insisted that his fighter's style could pose a lot of problem for the eight-division champion, saying that they took the fight because they felt Pacquiao is ripe for the picking.
"I took the Provodnikov fight for one reason and one reason alone - I knew that Chris stacked up pretty well against him and I also knew about the opportunity it provided. Well now for this particular fight, sure it pays good money the Pacquiao fight - but the reality is I'm also taking this fight because of the opportunity it provides and I like the way he stacks up against Manny," DeGuardia said via BoxingScene.
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