By Bill "Two Scoops" Emes
Freddie Roach, trainer of WBO junior welterweight champion Ruslan Provodnikov, says a knockout victory is very possible later tonight when his boxer defends his title for the first time against undefeated challenger Chris Algieri at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Roach doubts Algieri can accomplish the same result as Mauricio Herrera, who a few years ago was able to oubox Provodnikov for a decision victory. Provodnikov would later hire Roach as his trainer and began sparring with eight division champion Manny Pacquiao.
"Algieri is a good fighter, he's very athletic and a good boxer. He's a freak with conditioning, but I don't think he's got enough power for my guy. We're going to put a lot of pressure on him and make him fight every minute of every round," Roach told BoxingScene.com.
"I watched a few of his fights, I've watched some tape on him. I even watched a few of his kickboxing fights, when he got knocked out, so he is susceptive to being knocked out. It has happened to him before and it can happen again. He is very good at what he does. The Herrera fight was before I even know who Ruslan was, but he is a much better fighter now."
