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By Thomas Gerbasi - With a high school wrestling background and an unbeaten pro kickboxing career that netted him two world titles, Chris Algieri’s next step in combat sports appeared to be an obvious one – mixed martial arts.
But the Long Islander never considered chasing after a spot in the UFC or Strikeforce that some of his gym mates have already achieved. Simply put, it just wasn’t his dream.
“There was a stint where I wasn’t fighting as often as I wanted to and I asked (trainer) Keith (Trimble) ‘hey, can I help the guys and kick and punch and put on the little gloves?’” recalled Algieri. “And I tried it, and right away, the first day, he was like ‘why don’t you do MMA?’ But that’s not what I wanted to do and that’s not something I ever dreamed of being. I’m chasing a dream and that wasn’t my dream.”
Being a boxer, or more specifically a world champion in boxing, was the dream for him, and since 2008, with no amateur background in the sweet science, he’s been pursuing it. Currently 14-0 with seven knockouts, and headlining Star Boxing’s event at the Paramount Theatre in Huntington, New York this Saturday night against Raul Tovar, the 140-pound Algieri has no regrets and no second thoughts about his decision either, even if he might have been a fine fit for MMA’s featherweight or bantamweight classes.
“I grew up watching boxing, boxing is a very pure sport, I love it, and that’s what I always wanted to be,” he said. “I always wanted to be a boxing world champion, not a MMA world champion. Not that it’s not a major deal or a huge deal to be a UFC champ – I respect the sport, it takes a lot of hard work, these guys are really coming up and they’re really learning - but it’s not boxing.” [Click Here To Read More]
But the Long Islander never considered chasing after a spot in the UFC or Strikeforce that some of his gym mates have already achieved. Simply put, it just wasn’t his dream.
“There was a stint where I wasn’t fighting as often as I wanted to and I asked (trainer) Keith (Trimble) ‘hey, can I help the guys and kick and punch and put on the little gloves?’” recalled Algieri. “And I tried it, and right away, the first day, he was like ‘why don’t you do MMA?’ But that’s not what I wanted to do and that’s not something I ever dreamed of being. I’m chasing a dream and that wasn’t my dream.”
Being a boxer, or more specifically a world champion in boxing, was the dream for him, and since 2008, with no amateur background in the sweet science, he’s been pursuing it. Currently 14-0 with seven knockouts, and headlining Star Boxing’s event at the Paramount Theatre in Huntington, New York this Saturday night against Raul Tovar, the 140-pound Algieri has no regrets and no second thoughts about his decision either, even if he might have been a fine fit for MMA’s featherweight or bantamweight classes.
“I grew up watching boxing, boxing is a very pure sport, I love it, and that’s what I always wanted to be,” he said. “I always wanted to be a boxing world champion, not a MMA world champion. Not that it’s not a major deal or a huge deal to be a UFC champ – I respect the sport, it takes a lot of hard work, these guys are really coming up and they’re really learning - but it’s not boxing.” [Click Here To Read More]
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