Manny Pacquiao's next fight opponent Chris Algieri is shown in a different light, as the world champion boxer was seen posing with a UFC championship belt. The WBO light welterweight champion also revelead whether he will be seen competing inside the cage in the future.
Manny Pacquiao's next fight against Algieri is scheduled for November 22nd at the Cotai Arena in Macau, China. The undefeated 140-pound title-holder will be gunning for the eight-division world champion's 147-pound title that night.
In preparation for Manny Pacquiao's next fight, both men have shown their interest in other sports as well. While "Pacman" plays professional basketball in the Philippines, Chris Algieri dropped by the UFC office this past weekend, and posed with a UFC belt around his shoulder.
"Stopped by @ufc head offices in #lasvegas and borrowed this badboy. Looks good, no? #UFC #PacAlgieri #MMA #boxing," Algieri tweeted.
In a report by Bloody Elbow, Algieri's knowledge and experience on combat sports transcends beyond boxing. The undefeated world champion also holds a black belt in Kenpo Karate and actually began his fighting career as a kickboxer, where he also held an undefeated record of 20-0.
While the topic of transitioning into mixed martial arts was brought up, Algieri was quick to dismiss any plans about making such a move, but did give praises to UFC middleweight Constantinos Philippou and featherweight Dennis Bermudez, whom he trains with as well.
"I don't ever plan on fighting MMA, but I do appreciate the hard work that it takes from the fighters that I do train with," Algieri told LImixedmartialarts. "They're all hardworking guys, and MMA takes a serious, serious commitment."
In 2010, five-division champion James Toney was the first professional boxer to try his luck in MMA, as he faced two-division champion and Hall-of-Famer Randy Couture. As expected by the sport's pundits, Toney lost by first round submission.
While Algieri is not planning to do what "Lights Out" did, he believes that training with MMA fighters helps his career as a boxer.
"It's kind of helping, because I'm able to push myself in the fitness aspect of it," Algieri explained. "The conditioning for MMA is very high level."
