Retired referee and Hall of Famer Joe Cortez believed Chris Algieri poses a serious threat to Manny Pacquiao in their upcoming match on November 23 at Venetian Macao in Macau, citing that the American's well-rounded boxing style could give the eight-division world champ trouble in the ring.
Cortez, who served as the third man in the ring in numerous high-profile boxing match before, thinks Algieri is certainly not a pushover against Pacquiao because of his ability to dominate his opponent with his boxing skills alone.
"I think it will be a very difficult fight for Pacquiao. I think Pacquiao may not get through this kid. This kid is like 5'10 and he has great boxing skills, he has a long jab. He's gonna keep Pacquiao at a distance, Pacquiao is gonna try to come in and put him away. Pacquiao is gonna have his hands full," Cortez said in an interview with Boxing news site on the Ropes.
Cortez is apparently so impressed of Algieri's skills-set that he won't be shocked to see the former kick-boxing champ wrest the WBO Welterweight title from Pacquiao roughly three weeks from now.
"Chris Algieri is not the hardest puncher in the world but he proved when he fought Provodnikov what kind of a style he has. He's very difficult to hit and stays so very active with a lot of combinations and if he keeps Pacquiao at a distance, he's gonna box him all night long and he's gonna win a decision."
Still, the veteran referee really wanted for Pacquiao to come through with a victory against Algieri and keep him as one of the legit contenders for Floyd Mayweather Jr. next year.
"For boxing, I hope Pacquiao wins because I'd like to see him and Mayweather get it on finally but I think Chris Algieri is gonna give him a very difficult fight. It can be an upset."
When asked who would win if these two ring gladiators meet each other inside the squared circle, Cortez sounds really confident Mayweather still has the tools to dominate Pacquiao and win via 12-round unanimous decision.
"That fight is a fight that I see Mayweather winning by decision because Mayweather still has those skills. Pacquiao getting knocked out by Marquez, and he looked okay when he fought Brandon Rios in Macau, China but he's slipping a lot too. He's slipping a lot more than Mayweather is, so I gotta go with Mayweather on that one," said Cortez, who also served as an analyst for ESPN Boxing.
