By NICK GIONGCO
Chris Algieri has an uncanny similarity with his car, a Honda Accord that he bought brand-new many years ago but continues to rev smoothly.
Even though the car is already a bit old, Algieri says his baby is not yet beat-up and runs pretty much like the driver.
“It’s very reliable,” Algieri said in an interview that was arranged by his publicist Bernie Bahrmasel as part of the buildup for his Nov. 23 fight against Manny Pacquiao in Macau.
Sounds as if Algieri was talking about himself.
“I am fresh and hungry,” he said from his home in Long Island, New York.
It is these traits that Algieri feels will catapult him to stardom after he deals with the furious fists of Pacquiao at the CotaiArena at The Venetian in a little over four months from now.
While Algieri is honored and proud that he has been rewarded with an opportunity of a lifetime, the former karate and kickboxing standout thinks he has what it takes to break the hearts of Pacquiao and his legion of fans.
“I’m the biggest and most athletic guy he’s going to face in a long time and I plan to use all of my advantages,” said the 5-10 Algieri, who is three-and-a-half inches taller than Pacquiao.
“He’s never faced someone like me in terms of size and boxing skills.”
Algieri, unbeaten with a 20-0-0 record with eight knockouts, got the nod as a Pacquiao foe after scoring a hard-earned split decision win over Ruslan Provodnikov, also a Freddie Roach fighter, last month in Brooklyn.
A huge underdog, Algieri picked himself up from two first-round knockdowns and went on to outbox the slugging Russian in the remainder for a split decision.
Against Pacquiao, Algieri doesn’t mind being in the same situation again.
“I have been an underdog many times before. I am comfortable (with being an underdog).”
Like his Honda, which has only logged about 10,000 miles over the years, Algieri says he will get the job done.
“I’m a young 30 (years old),” he said.
Not only will he be the guy with the fresher legs but Algieri boasts that he will be tweaked come fight day. “I get better every fight.”
Talk about a Honda on steroids.