By Edward Chaykovsky
According to Top Rank's CEO Bob Arum, a formal offer has been made to WBO 140-pound champion Chris Algieri (20-0, 8KOs) to face Manny Pacquiao (56-5-2, 38KOs), the WBO beltholder at welterweight, on November 22nd in Macau, China.
Arum and Algieri's promoter, Joe DeGuardia told the New York Daily News that an agreement could be reached in the coming days.
"I hope we'll be able to get Joe on the phone and we'll be able to button this up," Arum said in a phone interview. "We're talking serious now with the idea of making the fight. It's not bullsh*t. Now, whether it gets made or not I don't know."
Algieri, who fought with a closed eye, pulled off an upset decision of heavily favored Ruslan Provodnikov from June 14 at Barclays Center.
"It's the best possible fight out there for Chris," DeGuardia said. "He did great in the Ruslan fight and he did great there but fighting Pacquiao puts him on a completely different level and a win against Pacquiao makes him a star, a legitimate and true star."
