"Here's the thing, it's a bit more difficult for Chris. Obviously people are going to say, 'Well it's Pacquiao and not Provodnikov, so obviously it's more difficult you genius.' Yeah, true, but besides from the naked eye seeing the difference between Pacquiao and Provodnikov, it's also styles," stated two-division world champion and Showtime commentator Paulie Malignaggi, who shared his thoughts on the upcoming November showdown between WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao and WBO jr. welterweight champion Chris Algieri. Check out what else Malignaggi had to say about the fight as he breaks down the advantages of both fighters during a recent conversation with FightHype.com.
PAULIE MALIGNAGGI ON PACQUIAO VS. ALGIERI:
Provodnikov was a face-first banger, so if Algieri could get on the back foot and start boxing a little bit, you could potentially see him giving Provodnikov a lot of trouble. Pacquiao and Algieri though, they look for the same thing. They're both boxers, but they're both boxers that are in and out. There are different kinds of boxers. For example, you have Adrien Broner, who's a boxer/puncher who likes to fight at mid range. He's not an in-and-out kind of fighter. He doesn't really use his legs. Algieri and Pacquiao are both in-and-out kind of boxers; they both look to hit and get out, so they're both looking to do the same exact thing. In one perspective, Algieri has an advantage; he's taller, so it's going to be a little bit more difficult for Pacquiao to jump back out when he's in because he's gotta get a little bit further out of range from Algieri's height and reach.
From the other perspective, Pacquiao is a lot faster at exploding in and out and also faster with hands than Provodnikov, and certainly I think he's even faster than Chris Algieri, so his being able to pull the trigger in time to step in and step out is going to present a different puzzle for Chris, who's going to be looking to do the same thing. But is it possible that the more speed in Pacquiao's back pocket will be able to negate Chris' effectiveness or will Chris be able to time him? Because if Chris effectively times Pacquiao, he can use his height to his advantage, but if he's not able to effectively time Pacquiao with Pacquiao's explosive in and out steps and speed, then obviously it's a long night for Chris. So those are the thinking factors behind the fight and we'll see which person is able to really pull off the game plan.
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