When asked if he had any say in choosing undefeated WBO jr. welterweight champion Chris Algieri as the opponent for his November 22 return to the ring, WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao revealed that the selection was left entirely up to his promoter, Bob Arum. "My promoter chose him to be my opponent. My job is to fight," the 8-division world champion replied when questioned during a group interview with several members of the media.
The news is somewhat surprising considering that both Arum and Pacquiao's advisor, Michael Koncz, gave the impression that it was Pacquiao who was mulling the decision on who he would face next following his unanimous decision victory over former welterweight champion Timothy Bradley back in April. The opponents said to be under consideration included Algieri, Mike Alvarado, Luis Carlos Abregu, and a fifth fight with Juan Manuel Marquez. One would think that Pacquiao would prefer to exact some revenge after being devastatingly knocked out by Juan Manuel Marquez, but evidently, that was never really an option being considered.
For many of Pacquiao's previous fights, both Arum and Koncz have consistently maintained that the choice of opponent rested solely on the decision of the fighter. Pacquiao's comment, however, suggests otherwise, which begs the question: after 63 professional fights, ust how motivated is he to face an unheralded handpicked opponent? To his credit, Pacquiao insists that he hasn't underestimated Algieri during his training leading up to the fight. "I don't want to underestimate Algieri, although he doesn't have power like my opponents in the past. You know, I don't want to underestimate him. That's why I started my training early for this fight and I have 100% condition to make sure nothing is missing in training. We did our best in training," Pacquiao added.
In roughly 4 days, we'll find out if Pacquiao still has the hunger that made him the devastating force to be reckoned with.
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