Freddie Roach failed to lead Ruslan Provodnikov to a win against Chris Algieri in June, but the Hall of Fame trainer vowed that the newly-crowned WBO light welterweight champion will not win against Manny Pacquiao.
In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Roach said that Algieri will have a hard time dealing with Pacquiao on Nov. 22 in Macau, saying that the Filipino boxing icon is a completely different fighter compared to Provodnikov.
Roach said that Algieri, who holds a perfect 20-0 record with eight knockouts, is a good boxer, but the 30-year-old American has not faced a fighter of Pacquiao's caliber.
"This guy's a pretty good boxer, but he's never been in the ring with anyone like Manny Pacquiao," Roach said of Algieri. "Ruslan and Manny are complete opposites. Manny would outclass Ruslan. He's too fast. This guy, he's a little faster than most people, but he's nowhere near as fast as Manny Pacquiao -- nowhere near, not even close, and I think we'll take him to school."
Roach also added that Provodnikov could have won against Algieri during their light welterweight title clash in June, but the 54-year-old trainer said that the Russian became too eager to score a knockout after flooring the New Yorker twice in the first round.
"Provodnikov was looking for a one-punch knockout after having some success early in the fight, so he got caught up in just trying to land that one shot," Roach said. "He didn't put his hands and combinations together and let Algieri out-score him with jabs."
Roach also revealed that Pacquiao, who will face Algieri at a 144-pound catchweight, will likely go down to the light welterweight division after winning in his next fight.
Pacquiao has been campaigning at the welterweight division since his WBO welterweight title fight against Miguel Cotto in November 2009, but Roach feels that the former pound-for-pound king will be more effective and will have more options at the 140-pound division.
"When we go back to 140, there's more competition," Roach said. "I asked Bob [Arum] why he put us in there against a runner. Manny does better with guys who come to him. This guy won't. But if he does, he'll get knocked out."
