By Bill "Two Scoops" Emes
Long Island native Chris Algieri, coming off last week’s shocking upset win over reigning WBO champion Ruslan “The Siberian Rocky” Provodnikov at Brooklyn’s Barclay Center, is taking some time off as his badly damaged eye heals up. Algieri has several options for his future, and is rumored to be on a short list to face Manny Pacquiao in November, a fight Top Rank’s Bob Arum seems very interested in making. Algieri has also expressed interest in unification bouts with both reigning Jr Welterweight kingpin Danny Garcia, and IBF Jr Welterweight beltholder Lamont Peterson.
One name that has yet to have been floated for Algieri is reigning pound for pound king Floyd Mayweather – who could be viable option given his promoter Joe DeGuardia ‘s neutral position in the ongoing network cold war. Although a bout of this magnitude might be a premature discussion, we asked Algieri for his thoughts on facing Mayweather, who had this to say about facing the reigning pound for pound king:
“I gotta keep winning big fights, I gotta get big fights and I gotta keep performing and just keep going… I mean I think (fighting Mayweather) is the goal for everyone… like you said, Floyd is the best of our generation, and like I said I don’t want to be the best, I want the opportunity to fight the best….I’m not trying to be Floyd Mayweather, but I wouldn’t mind fighting him.”
Asked if he hopes to be considered to face Mayweather in one of his three remaining bouts on his Showtime contract and are very likely the final three bouts of his career, Algieri did not hesitate.
“Absolutely, it’s got to be the only way to think at this point – I’m not looking to be here for 10 years anyway, so I want the big fights now, I want make these moves, the right moves, but I’m looking to nail down the biggest fights we can get and bang ‘em out – I’m a consummate fitness guy and I’m always in shape and always ready for the next fight, so I’m just gonna keep it all rolling.”
