"He's a petty good mover. He moves pretty well. He's very defensive, at least against Ruslan when I faced him last time he was. He has a good left hand and he has good jab. I think his jab is his best weapon and something we really have to take care of," stated world-class trainer Freddie Roach, who discussed the game plan heading into the November 22 showdown between his fighter, WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao, and WBO jr. welterweight champion Chris Algieri. According to Roach, Algieri will try to have a chess match with Pacquiao, using his height advantage to work behind his jab while firing combinations. To prepare Pacquiao for that type of fight, the Hall of Fame trainer brought in 5'11" undefeated jr. welterweight contender Viktor Postol as one of the chief sparring partners.
"[Viktor] Postol has a great jab. He's tall. I mean, he's taller than Algieri. He's rated number one. He's very smart. I see Manny having a little trouble with him. It's more of a thinking man's job there; who's gonna pull the right move off at the right time, so he really makes Manny think and that's something Algieri will do also and that's what we're getting ready for," Roach explained during a recent conference call to promote the bout. "He [Algieri] has a great jab. I mean, the jab is the best punch in boxing. I mean, guys like Virgil Hill, Larry Holmes won world titles with the jab, so, you know, it's something we really have to concentrate on. We have to really take that jab away from him. We have the game plan on how to do that and the thing is, we're working on it every day. That's why Postol was brought in because he has a very good jab like Algieri and he's a little bit taller than Algieri, so he has a little more of a reach, but it gives us a good idea of what to expect in the fight."
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