By Jake Donovan
The last time Chris Algieri played the Barclays Center, he went home with the biggest win of his career.
The only time Amir Khan fought in New York, he made a major statement in stopping Paul Malignaggi in front of all of his homeboys at Madison Square Garden Theatre.
Safe to say, both fighters will expect big things in their headlining bout Friday evening at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The main event tops a Spike-TV televised doubleheader, as part of Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) series.
The outcome of the evening could potentially factor into the next—and possibly last-ever—opponent for Floyd Mayweather Jr., who insists that September 12 will mark the final fight of his legendary career.
Khan (30-3, 19KOs) has been hot in pursuit of such a showdown, and was believed to be a front-runner for each of Mayweather's last two Cinco de Mayo ring appearances.
The closest that the former 140 lb. champ has come to landing such an assignment has been his being placed in the chief support of Mayweather's first win over Marcos Maidana last May. Khan cruised past Luis Collazo on the undercard, and followed up the win with a decisive yet competitive win over Devon Alexander last December.
Shortly following his victory over Alexander, rumors began to swirl of Khan high among the list of candidates to have faced Mayweather earlier this month. Of course, such talks died down the moment it became a distinct possibility—and eventual reality—that Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao would collide in a superfight more than five years in the making.
Instead, the 28-year old Brit soldiers on, focused on a standout performance this weekend before worrying about the future.
For Algieri (20-1, 8KOs), Friday evening represents a chance to remove the bad taste left behind from his landslide loss to Pacquiao last November, in which he was dropped six times and at no point competitive in their Pay-Per-View headliner from Macau.
The dismal performance was a sour end to an otherwise breakout campaign in 2014. The fighting pride of Long Island turned heads with a clear-cut win over Emmanuel Taylor last February, a victory that led to a showdown with then-140 lb. titlist Ruslan Provodnikov.
Algieri survived two knockdowns in the opening round to outbox Provodnikov and deliver one of the year's biggest upsets in taking a split decision to win his first title. The bout took place at Barclays Center, where Algieri returns in hopes of catching lightning in a bottle.
Read on to see how the staff at BoxingScene.com believes the action will play out.
BOXINGSCENE.COM STAFF PREDICTIONS: AMIR KHAN vs. CHRIS ALGIERI
Ryan Burton (Khan TKO9): Khan makes a statement to try and become Mayweather's next opponent.
Jake Donovan (Khan UD): Tempted to pick the knockout, but I’ve yet to see that extra gear in Khan’s arsenal to convince me he closes the show. That said, he’s a far more fluid fighter since hooking up with Virgil Hunter. Not sure how much Algieri improves with John David Jackson in his corner; my guess is enough to avoid getting dropped or stopped, but barely winning a round along the way.
David “Khan I Kick It? Yes You Khan” Greisman (Khan TKO): Haven't we seen this before? Khan against an opponent with little knockout power and a preference for boxing? No matter how much John David Jackson may have improved Algieri in such a relatively short time-frame, and no matter how good Jackson's game plan may end up being, Khan's hand and foot speed will still be too much for an opponent who won't be able to handle either.
Peter Lim (Khan UD): Algieri really doesn't belong in the same bracket as top-shelf fighters but, thanks to his gritty split decision upset over Provodnikov, he has landed back-to-back big-money fights, first against Pacquaio and now against Khan. This matchup would be a gross mismatch if not for one thing: the crystal-chinned Khan is always one punch away from being dropped or stopped. Khan can box and Khan can punch, but knowing he's a frontrunner for a bonanza of a payday against Mayweather, he opts to utilize his lightning speed and rapid fires his way to a lopsided decision rather than throw caution to the wind to go for the knockout.
Takahiro Onaga (Khan TKO9): I not convinced Khan is a top welterweight. However, he has a lot of skill and speed. I think he stops Algieri and makes a statement.
Cliff Rold (Khan UD): Khan could stop Algieri but his style with Hunter has been more thoughtful (and dull). He wins this wide, but Algieri will have moments.
Victor Salazar (Khan late TKO): Khan will just be too fast and too strong. Algieri is a decent boxer but will lack the punch to keep Khan off him.
Reynaldo Sanchez (Khan UD): For us this fight is a mystery, intrigues us know which of them will visit the canvas first. Algieri has shown the courage to stand up against Provodnikov and Pacquiao, even though he lost both fights, in my opinion. Amir Khan, seems a little better equipped technically, and the question that we have is primarily in their resistance to punishment.
Alexey Sukachev (Khan UD): With a dominant year of 2014 (very solid wins over tough Collazo and Alexander), the only question remaining: can Algieri last the distance against the Brit? At least, he was able to do so against two of the most prolific sluggers in the sport, and he has done it in a row. However, Khan can stop the American on unanswered punches or accumulation of punishment. Nevertheless, I'm going with a decision: 118-108 or whatever.
Totals:
Khan by decision–5
Khan by stoppage–4
Algieri in any fashion–0
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox