"I'm not going to be in awe of the big show or caught in the lights or caught in the aura of Manny Pacquiao. I've been in with some of the best in the world in kickboxing. Literally I've been in with guys who arguably were the best there ever was during my kickboxing career, so it's nothing new to me. And for me, I don't look at Manny as being this legend. He's just the next guy that I'm fighting that's standing in the way of what I want," stated undefeated WBO jr. welterweight champion Chris Algieri, who spoke about his upcoming clash with 8-division world champion Manny Pacquiao. Despite the fact that many people are saying that Pacquiao has the edge in experience when it comes to fighting under the bright lights on the big pay-per-view stage, Algieri is confident that his years as a world kickboxing champion, combined with the tough opponents he's faced coming up through the boxing ranks, have fully prepared him for the moment on November 22.
"I wasn't one of those guys who was signed early by a big promotional company and had the benefit of great matchmaking to kind of build my career. I've fought every style you can think of and I fought tough guys. If you look at the numbers of all the guys I fought, I never had those building guys. I was in fights. I've been in fights since my pro debut. My pro debut was a 5'11" southpaw. You don't want to fight that guy in your first fight. So I've had to find ways to win in every single one of my fights and it's gotten us here, so it's working out," Algieri explained during a recent conversation with FightHype.com. "I only know uphill battles in terms of the opposition. I've been on the adjustment my whole career. Plus my kickboxing career, I was young and, for lack of a better word, dumb and I wanted to fight the best immediately. I won a world title fight in my fourth fight. I had to keep fighting and keep beating up regional guys, but I was pushing for world title fights almost out of the gate."
Algieri added, "I mean, at the end of the day, it's a fight and we're not wearing headgear. I've been in with guys who were 35, 40, 45 fights deep and I had less than 10 fights. That's just the way my whole career has been. I was sparring with world champions when I was 16 in kickboxing, so for me to be in with guys with a lot more experience literally my whole career."
BE SURE TO CHECK BACK SOON FOR MUCH MORE FROM UNDEFEATED WBO JR. WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPION CHRIS ALGIERI
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