Chris Algieri is pushing himself to the limit as he revs up for the force of nature that is Manny Pacquiao next month in Macau.
Holed out in Las Vegas the past two weeks after spending a month in his native Long Island, New York, Algieri’s preparations have reached its zenith after the 30-year-old revealed that he has gone 10 four-minute rounds with “fresh” sparring partners climbing the ring.
The 5-10 Algieri, a good four-inch taller than Pacquiao, said he hardly takes a breather in-between rounds, adding he only has 40-second breaks before answering the bell.
Tapped to make Algieri get used to the punishing conditions on Nov. 23 are Mike “Lefty” Brooks of Long Island, New York and unbeaten Jose Zepeda of Long Beach, California. Brooks, 27, stands 5-61/2 like Pacquiao and has a 10-2-1 win-loss-draw record with two KOs, while Zepeda, 25, is 5-8 and holds a 20-0 card with 17 KOs.
Algieri is the heavy underdog going into the scheduled 12-round welterweight match at the CotaiArena but the college-educated former champion kickboxer and karate expert is unfazed.
Algieri earned a crack at Pacquiao after scoring a shocking decision over one-time Pacquiao sparmate Ruslan Providnikov of Russia last June.
On Nov. 12 or 13, Algieri will fly to Macau, joined by his trainers and promoters as well as Top Rank publicity chief Lee Samuels.
Pacquiao, meanwhile, won’t be arriving in Macau until Nov. 17 straight from General Santos City, said the fighting congressman’s Canadian adviser Mike Koncz.
This will be Pacquiao’s second fight in the former Portuguese colony after he made his debut there by beating Brandon Rios last year.