Is Manny Pacquiao playing mind games with Long Island’s Chris Algieri or did the Filipino pool shark just have an off day? It certainly could be the former and Algieri may not have seen the gamesmanship coming.
The two were in Manhattan on Thursday to end a 27,000-mile promotional tour for their Nov. 22 pay-per-view bout at the Venetian Macau.
During a stop in San Francisco last Friday, the boxers were matched in a game of pool. Pacquiao is a “professional” pool player, according to those close to him, and often plays for high stakes.
But somehow Algieri won.
“I got lucky on that one,” Algieri said on Thursday.
Soon, it was learned Algieri also fared better when the two shot baskets, even though Pacquiao might like basketball more than boxing and plays nearly every day when not training.
Algieri also felt he proved himself the superior athlete when the two bowled and later took batting practice before a Giants game.
“The second pitch, I crushed it,” Algieri said. “All the guys from the San Francisco team were shaking their heads.”
Pacquiao, with tongue in cheek, confirmed he had been beaten in a few tests of skills.
“As a Christian, I’m giving an advantage,” he said. “But in a real fight, that’s different.”
Algieri was certainly exuding confidence during Thursday’s final press conference of a tour that had stopped in Macau, Shanghai, San Francisco, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles before New York.
Perhaps posturing next to the 5-foot-6 Pacquiao in all those cities has left the 5-foot-10 Algieri feeling good about pulling off another mega-upset like he did defeating Ruslan Provodnikov of Russia in June for the WBO 140-pound title.
“A jab and good-timing beats speed, and defense beats power,” Algieri said. “I’m going to be smarter. I’ve got to stick to the game plan and go out there and do what I always do.”
Algieri (20-0, 8 KOs) shouldn’t put too much stock in beating Pacquiao in pool and such. To hear trainer Freddie Roach talk, it sounds as if Pacquiao took a dive.
“He threw everything,” Roach said of Pacquiao. “He’s a good [pool] player. He let [Algieri] have it. If they were playing for money, it would have different.”
Even Pacquiao admitted: “I lost our games. But in real game, I’m better than him.”
The 30-year-old still lives with his mother and drives a Nissan Accord with 200,000 miles on it. He just finished paying off his college loans.
“I’m actually debt free with some money left over,” he said.
He plans to get a car and his own place after the Pacquiao bout.
“My mother is crying already,” he said. “If you mention it, she starts getting teary-eyed.”
Top Rank boss Bob Arum thinks Algieri, a former kickboxer, who was teaching fitness classes when the year began, is a promoter’s dream and his good looks have drawn a female following.
“I haven’t seen anything like this since Oscar De La Hoya,” Arum said.
Algieri just shouldn’t be swayed by Pacquiao’s humble manner during a game of pool.