Trainer Freddie Roach belittled Manny Pacquiao's next fight, as the multi-awarded boxing coach boldly declares that the match up "is not a problem."
In a report by Boxingscene.com, the six-time Boxing Writers Association of America Trainer of the Year awardee had very little to say about Manny Pacquiao's next fight, and the opponent that they will be facing.
"He's got a good jab. That's it," Roach simply said.
Manny Pacquiao's next fight against Chris Algieri is scheduled for November 22, back in what is considered as Asia's boxing mecca, Macau, China. None other than Top Rank Promotions executive, Bob Arum, confirmed the news two weeks ago.
"We have a deal. On my end, it wasn't a hard deal at all," Arum said in an interview with ESPN. "I came up pretty much with what they were looking for and then Joe and Artie had to sit down with Algieri and cut it up fairly amongst themselves."
Both men are coming off victories, as "Pacman" redemeed himself against Timothy Bradley in a rematch for the WBO Welterweight title in April.
Chris Algieri, on the other hand, fought a tough battle against another one of Freddie Roach's students, hard-hitting Ruslan Provodnikov. He is currently a WBO light welterweight champion, and holds an immaculate win-loss record of 20-0 with eight knockouts.
But despite Algieri's accomplishments inside the ring, odds-makers in the United States have the eight-division world-champion as the heavy favorite. In a report by Reuters, Manny Pacquiao is billed as the -1400 favorite, while Chris Algieri was billed as the +800 underdog.
Chris Algieri himself admitted that he plans to make a name off "Pacman", should he emerge victorious.
"He looks as Manny as an elite of the game," said Algieri's promoter Joe DeGuardia. "He wants to climb another mountain. If he wins this fight, you have the start of another era."
But Freddie Roach immediately belittled the idea, saying that the match-up will not be too much of a concern.
"His style, he's a bit of a runner," Roach said in jest. "Pacquiao doesn't particularly like fighting guys who run so much."
"We'll figure out a way to beat him," he added about Manny Pacquiao's next fight. "It's not a problem."
