Manny Pacquiao will be a heavy favorite heading into his upcoming WBO welterweight title defense on November 22 in Macau, but Brandon Rios believes that challenger Chris Algieri will score a huge upset win.
Rios, who took a lopsided unanimous decision loss to Pacquiao in November 2013, said in an interview with On The Ropes Boxing Radio that he will pick Algieri if asked to put a bet for the upcoming fight.
"I like underdogs, so I'm going for Algieri for this fight," Rios said. "We know it's not gonna be a knockout but I think he's just gonna box him, stay on the outside and use his reach."
Rios said that while Algieri, who is still undefeated in 20 professional fights, does not possess the punching power to inflict a serious damage to Pacquiao, he pointed out that the reigning WBO light welterweight champion has the skills to surprise the Filipino boxing icon.
"Algieri does have tremendous skills, people don't give him credit," Algieri said. "Yes, we know that he doesn't hit hard, we know that he doesn't have that power punch, that knockout punch. But he can box, that guy can box his ass off. He can move and he has defensive skills and offensive skills."
And when asked about his thoughts on why he suffered a lopsided defeat to the former pound-for-pound king, Rios insisted that he was caught flat-footed. He said that he was physically prepared for the fight, but was overwhelmed by the magnitude of the fight that he was in.
"I think what happened is, I just froze. I think I froze a little bit because it was my first big mega fight, and I'm fighting Manny Pacquiao," Rios said. "Physically I was ready and everything. Mentally, I probably wasn't as ready as I should have been because like I said - that was my first mega fight and I'm fighting somebody like Manny Pacquiao. It did kind of get to me a little bit."
Rios, who has not fought since losing to Pacquiao, will make his return on Saturday night against Diego Gabriel Chaves in Las Vegas. The Lubbock, Texas native holds a 31-2-1 card with 23 knockout victories.
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