After his rousing victory over Chris Algieri this past weekend at the Barclay Center in Brooklyn, New York, young welterweight contender Errol Spence Jr. (20-0, 17KOs) made some rather derogatory remarks regarding Manny Pacquiao as a fighter.
Spence explained to reporters why he was able to dispatch of Algieri in five rounds and why Algieri - despite six knockdowns -was able to go the twelve round distance with Pacquiao in the fall of 2014.
"It goes back to what my coach said. Manny Pacquiao is a hard puncher, he's quick - but he lacks fundamentals and that's what I'm big on....fundamentals. I can cut off the ring, I can vary up my punches. Manny Pacquiao, he can't cut off the ring - as you've seen with Floyd and as you've seen with Algieri. When Chris Algieri got hurt [with Pacquaio], he was able to move and recover. When I had Chris Algieri hurt, I didn't allow him to do that," Spence explained.
Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach responded on Tuesday by stating the following to BoxingScene.com - ''Errol Spence is a good fighter. I met him in the Olympic training center. He was one of the best fighters on the (2012) team. He looked good against (Chris)Algieri the other night but he can't carry Manny Pacquiao's bags."
While Spence stopped Algieri in five rounds on Saturday night, the previous weekend in Las Vegas, one week earlier Pacquiao defeated Tim Bradley over twelve rounds in what may or may not have been his swan song as a professional prizefighter.
So how would a Pacquiao-Spence fight go?
"Manny's getting older, he's retired now and Errol's up and coming. He might have a little youth on Manny, Manny has a lot of experience and he has to just get in line. fight a real fight first and then you can show me something. Fight Kell Brook and show me something," stated Roach.
Steve Kim is the news editor for BoxingScene.com.