Manny Pacquiao Prepared For Chris Algieri’s Tendencies; Filipino’s Trainer Worried About American’s Underrated KO Power

Chris Algieri is a huge underdog in the biggest fight of his boxing career on Nov. 23 (Nov. 22 in the United States) in Macau. One person who is not underestimating the undefeated American’s skills, particularly his punching power, is Buboy Fernandez, Manny Pacquiao’s assistant trainer and long-time friend and confidant.

“Manny has to watch out for his left jab, left hook and right uppercut down the middle,” Fernandez said to Joaquin Henson of philstar.com, the website for a local daily in the Philippines. “Those are the three things Algieri likes to throw.”

For every knockout, it takes two to tango— one powerful punch and one unprepared or careless fighter— as what happened to Pacquiao during his December 2012 bout against Juan Manuel Marquez, who put the Filipino to sleep in the sixth round two years ago. The loss is widely seen as Pacquiao's worst defeat in his storied boxing career.

Cause Of Fernandez’s Concern: Real or Imagined?

Algieri is known more of a boxer than a puncher that many pundits are not expecting the American to give Pacquiao trouble power-wise. Algierii has a knockout rate of 40 per cent with eight fights not going to the distance in his perfect 20-0-0 card. However, Algieri’s length and reach is his main asset and could give Pacquiao some trouble. The 30-year-old Algieri is listed at 5’10” while 35-year-old Manny Pacquiao is at 5’6 1/2”. Here’s the list of Algieri’s KO victims in his boxing career:

Wilfredo Acuna - Retired (7th round) - Sept. 14, 2013

Winston Mathis - TKO (3rd round) - March 31, 2012

Julias Edmonds - TKO (4th round) - March 17, 2011

Edward Valdez - Retired (3rd round) - Sept. 9, 2009

Eric Rodriguez - TKO (3rd round) - May 8, 2009

Clarence Smith - TKO (1st round) - Sept. 26, 2008

Rakeem Carter - TKO (4th round) - Aug. 1, 2007

Ken Dunham - TKO (3rd round) - Apr. 3, 2008

In the same interview with the trainer who handles Pacquiao’s training camp and corner during the actual matches beside renowned trainer Freddie Roach, Fernandez stated that one of his tasks was watching past Algieri’s fights and look for patterns and identify the American’s fighting style as they make their own preparations for the upcoming fight to be held at the Cotai Arena, Venetian Resort in the booming gambling country of Macau.

Fernandez pointed out two possible type of Algieris during the bout; first, a boxer who will fight like Antonio Margarito, who will “fight back” when pressed on the ropes; or second, a slick fighter like Erik Morales who “likes to slip out” when on the ropes and corners.

“Manny knows how to deal with both styles. So he won’t be surprised whatever Algieri does,” Fernandez declared confidently in the same article. The “Clash in Cotai” between Chris Algieri and Manny Pacquiao, set roughly two weeks from today, will be for the World Boxing Organization (WBO) world welterweight title.