Chris Algieri is confident that he can pull off a huge upset, while Manny Pacquiao said that he won't force a knockout win in their upcoming title fight on November 22 at the Venetian Resort in Macau, China.
Algieri, who will look to snatch Pacquiao's World Boxing Organization welterweight title, knows that odds are against him, but he is quite confident that he could score an upset as long as he will follow their fight plan.
"We have had a good mix of what to expect fight night," Algieri said of his upcoming bout against Pacquiao via Fightnews. "Manny is a fast and explosive guy with power, tremendous experience. I have to go out there and be the young lion, set the pace, be in his face, work hard and be smart."
The 30-year-old challenger, who will put his unblemished 20-0 record on the line, earned the right to face Pacquiao after scoring a scintillating split-decision win against Ruslan Provodnikov in their WBO light welterweight title fight in June.
Algieri was also a heavy underdog before the fight and actually went down the canvass twice in the opening round. But like in the Provodnikov bout, Algieri vowed to go all out, knowing that he will be going up against a tough opponent.
"The opportunity came up to fight Manny Pacquiao and I jumped at it, just like the Provodnikov fight," Algieri said. "The Provodnikov fight was a chance to get into the mainstream. This fight came up and I get to fight the best ever. Pacquiao is a legend everyone knows about Manny Pacquiao I have to out there and be whoever I am."
On the other hand, Pacquiao is also confident that he will successfully defend his world welterweight title later this month.
The former pound-for-pound king has not scored a knockout win since stopping Miguel Cotto in 2009. But when asked if a knockout victory is on the horizon for the Algieri bout, Pacquiao reiterated that he won't consciously try to score a knockout to avoid committing big mistakes.
"We cannot go into the fight thinking about the knockout," Pacquiao said via World Boxing News. "A knockout will not change the result of the fight as long as we get the win. What we are trying to do right now is to get the focus in training and for the fight that people want to see."
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