The anticipated match between Manny Pacquiao and Chris Algieri is nearing and both parties are now on the heels of the practice.
According to Pacquaio's coach Freddie Roach, the World Boxing Organisation (WBO) welterweight champion.
Sparring partner Viktor Postol, who is also the number one contender in the World Boxing Council's super lightweight division, agrees to the latter's words as he had a firsthand experience of the strength of the champion. His blows are so strong that the Filipino southpaw left him with a broken nose in training last week.
Pacquiao has faced a couple of devastating defeats. He suffered multiple defeats in 2012 but he was able to get back on track with two impressive wins over Brandon Rios and Timothy Bradley.
That is why a win over Algieri can boost his records.
Tuesday's South China Morning Post quoted Roach as saying "The thing is I have my number one contender from Ukraine and he's a very good boxer and he could beat Algieri right now. That's why I brought him in as a number one sparring partner because he has that style. Manny broke Postol's nose three days ago. But Postol's okay. I train him. He's a fighter, he's a tough kid and he's not going home."
Algieri on the other hand has an impressive record of 20 wins with no defeat. Aside from that he has won the WBO light-welterweight title last month by a split decision against Russia's Ruslan Provodnikov.
While many question if Pacquiao can withstand a much younger fighter, Roach is nothing but confident for his boxer.
He said "Manny Pacquiao is in great shape. Our strength coach came in 10 days before me. He started working him and by the time I worked with him, we were sparring 12 rounds in the mitts. Pacquiao wasn't even breathing heavy. His condition is terrific right now."
Adding "That's why I want him to come to Hong Kong. We weren't going to come because the fight is more important. But the thing is that we are way ahead of schedule. We still have three hard weeks of work in front of us. With three good sparring partners, it's working out well. I have one more sparring partner coming over as a reserve, but I will use him as well."
