MANILA, Philippines – Freddie Roach had insisted that Manny Pacquiao’s sparring partners are better than Chris Algieri, the Filipino icon’s opponent for November 23.
Pacquiao has been grinding it out in sparring against contenders Viktor Postol, Stan Martyniouk and Mike Jones in General Santos City, hardly having any problems with them. He even broke Postol’s nose during one session.
If Roach is right and Algieri is indeed inferior to those three, then it’s going to be an easy night for Pacquiao two weeks from now at the Cotai Arena of The Venetian Macao.
But Algieri claimed Roach made the remark to mask what the trainer has been feeling as the fight draws near.
“He’s nervous,” Algieri said in a report by Chris Robinson HustleBoss.com.
Though the undefeated New Yorker clearly isn’t fond of the way Roach is dismissing him, he said he’s not letting it get to his mind and disrupt his focus.
“Simple as that. He’s [Roach] acting out of character because he’s nervous. That stuff doesn’t affect me at all. I’m not that guy,” Algieri added.
Roach is known to be outspoken prior to fights, and he has done all the talking for Pacquiao, who rarely talks trash about his opponents.
Algieri, for his part, just brushed it off.
“It’s not going to work on me,” he said of Roach talking smack, adding his focus has never been better.
“It comes. I feel the focus and intensity increasing and that’s just how it goes in training camp. A little more eyes on the prize. The training gets more focused. You have no choice,” Algieri also said. – Dino Maragay