By Edward Chaykovsky
Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach is not concerned with the height advantage of undefeated WBO junior welterweight champion Chris Algieri, who challenges Roach's superstar boxer Manny Pacquiao for the WBO welterweight title on Saturday night at the Venetian in Macau, China. HBO Pay-Per-View will carry the fight.
Roach feels Pacquiao will certainly be able to land punches on Algieri and he'll be able to land often. And Roach is not exactly concerned with the punches Algieri will be throwing return. Algieri is a good boxer, but only has eight knockouts in his 20 wins as a pro. Pacquiao himself has not registered a knockout since a stoppage win of Miguel Cotto in 2009, and Roach wants him to end Algieri inside the distance.
"Personally, I don't think height means anything. Hey, it's not a basketball game. It's a fight. Sometimes a guy who fights like Manny can make people get shorter in a hurry. I look at Algieri and I give him 100 percent off guts. You have to if you saw his last fight [when he overcame a closed eye and two knockdowns]," Roach told The Star Ledger.
"But on the the other side, he is not much of a puncher. Don't think he could break an egg and he's very hittable. As an opponent, that's good for our side. I know [Algieri's trainer] Tim Lane says he will hurt Manny — and hurt him bad. But I don't see how or with what. He just doesn't have any tools for that."
