Chris Algieri exits the locker room of the Bellmore Kickboxing Academy in Long Island, NY, looking like a new Marvel creation. Wearing full-length black running tights and a black fitted sleeveless hoodie, he pops in a thick mouthpiece, giving his otherwise unmarked face an ominous cast.
While Algieri wraps his hands, he analyzes his right eye in a mirror by the ring—the same eye that was grotesquely swollen shut in the first round of his last fight in June, courtesy of a compact left hook by Ruslan Provodnikov (aka the Siberian Rocky). Algieri, a consummate planner, hadn’t expected this. Not so quickly in his HBO debut at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
The shot that closed his right eye also put his back on the canvas. Algieri popped back up on good legs, but took a knee shortly thereafter; not in capitulation, but to “assess the situation,” says the 30-year-old who used much of the $100,000 purse from his main event to pay off the student loans he incurred while earning a bachelor’s degree in healthcare science from Stony Brook University and a master’s degree in clinical nutrition from the New York Institute of Technology. Someday, Algieri feels he may go to medical school once he’s done punching for pay.
But in the center of the ring at Barclays Center, with doctors monitoring his closed right eye, Algieri boxed with remarkable discipline and poise, working behind a busy jab and energetic legs. When Michael Buffer announced Algieri as the winner of a split decision, and the Russian’s WBO Light Welterweight belt was handed to Algieri, it was the fulfillment of a dream, but none of it surprised him—if you take him at his word. One of the biggest upsets of the year, oddsmakers had Algieri as a +525 betting underdog.
This past February, just two fights ago, Algieri’s biggest exposure was fighting on ESPN’s Friday Night Fights in front of his hometown Huntington, Long Island crowd at the Paramount Theatre—a 1,550 seater where he made about $10,000. Later this evening, Algieri will return to the Paramount a champion, with a $1.5 million contract in hand that will change his life forever. Algieri’s Nike boxing boots are the last item he puts on before he begins training today. They have an “MP” insignia on the side. “Aren’t those Manny Pacquiao’s shoes?” I ask.
Pacquiao—#3 all-time in pay-per-view revenue and buys, behind only Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather, and currently #11 on Forbes’ World Highest-Paid Athletes list—is the only fighter who has his own shoe. Pacquiao will also be a huge betting favorite when Algieri faces him on November 22 at The Venetian Casino & Resort in Macao, China. (At press time, Pacquiao was a 14-1 favorite.) “I wear them because he’s the best,” Algieri says, stroking his chin stubble. “The best for now.”
He notes that when the HBO crew arrives in 30 minutes to begin shooting its 24/7 series hyping the upcoming pay-per-view, he’s going to reference the MP shoes. It’s too good not to use. He may go with that quip or another he has prepared. Even his throwaway lines feel as if they may have been rehearsed in front of the bathroom mirror.
Algieri is a planner. Calculated. Scientific. Programmed. He comes across like a politician on the campaign trail, except he’s a self-managed one. “The minute I got rid of my manager,” Algieri says, “I started making more money." A trusty lawyer in tow, Algieri negotiated his own purse for the Pacquiao fight, going mano-a-mano with his notoriously cagey promoter Joe DeGuardia of Star Boxing.
Algieri warms up by jogging 10 minutes on the treadmill, and then stretches his hamstrings. He sets the slip bag in motion, moving his head around it, ripping off flawless six-punch combinations in a second. If you’ve never seen a boxer of this caliber train in person, you would think it was CGI.
His co-head trainer, Keith Trimble, watches from across the gym. Trimble, a top striking coach in MMA but less recognized in boxing, has been with him since Algieri started kickboxing at age 16. Algieri turned pro as a kickboxer while he was in college and retired undefeated (20-0) in 2007 with two significant welterweight belts to his credit. Before kickboxing, there was Chinese Kenpo Karate; he got his black belt at 15. In high school, he tried out for wrestling and won a Catholic State Championship.But Algieri was always a huge boxing fan. He wore out stacks of VHS tapes studying the modern greats—Hearns, Duran, Leonard, Chavez, Trinidad, Tyson and Roy Jones.
Given his varied skill set, MMA looked like a natural fit—not passé fisticuffs. The Italian/Argentinean-American also adheres to the socio/economic/ethnic make-up more typical of MMA enthusiasts. Yet his passion for boxing was incurable. All those years of studying the fights, and his success in other forms of combat, gave him the self-confidence to eschew traditional boxing development before becoming a professional. Skipping past the Golden Gloves, national and international tournaments and a shot at the Olympics, Algieri made his pro boxing debut in 2008.
The media now asks from where this dark horse has come? “This is nothing new to me, guys,” he says. “I’ve been a champion all of my life.” The word “champion” comes out of his mouth frequently, not by accident. A big fan of social media, Algieri’s YouTube vlogs are branded “Champion Lifestyle,” where he gives tips on nutrition for optimum performance and recovery, records his workouts, and shares his state of mind as he prepares for battle.
Many are baffled by his almost bizarre level of self-assurance, expecting, or perhaps even preferring, some aw-shucks humility. “Who the hell does this guy think he is?” a boxing writer growled to me at the Provodnikov-Algieri press conference prior to their bout. While other fighters wore workout sweats, Algieri wore a well-tailored suit, hair perfectly in place, speaking eloquently about why he would win. The skepticism will go into overdrive as Algieri prepares for Pacquiao. Diminished though the Filipino icon may be, (He hasn’t stopped anyone in his last 90 rounds.), he’s still a massive step up in class from Provodnikov, a fighter many thought deserved the decision in their last fight. Pacquiao also brings a far hotter spotlight than anything Algieri has ever known.
Broach these issues with the scientifically-inclined academic and you’ll learn his confidence is now merely at a baseline. “The process of the camp, as I get sharper and the rounds accumulate, as I develop a better understanding of who I will be facing and how I will beat him, my mental state improves exponentially.”
I remind Algieri, he only has eight knockouts on his ledger, and never came remotely close to hurting Provodnikov. “I’ve got a great jab,” Algieri parries back. “An effective jab will neutralize anything the other guy has. My movement is going to be a problem for him. That my conditioning will be on point is a given.
Two HBO cameras flank Algieri as a producer is peppering him with questions to illicit hype-worthy audio. “It doesn’t matter what the weight is”—the A-side Pacquiao calls the shots and mandated a 144-pound catch-weight—“I will be the bigger man. I’m three and a half inches taller and have a five-inch advantage in reach.”
“I’m not saying Pacquiao’s old at 36,” Algieri says, mugging for the cameras as he digs body shots on a chain-rattling heavy bag. “But I’m going to make him feel that way all night long.
When his trainer Trimble picks up the mitts and they get inside the ring, the female HBO producer rushes over to a cameraman and tells him to “shoot his buns. They’re…. amazing.
Algieri already looks fighting trim, but he’s actually well north of the contracted weight he’ll have to make the day before his fight. His customary walk-around weight is always within two pounds of an amount he tells me, but then asks not to include in my piece. “Why give them anything”” he shrugs.
“I could kick the livin’ shit outta Algieri,” a feisty MMA guy proclaims within earshot. Algieri chuckles and calls him over between rounds and drapes a pacifying arm over his shoulder. HBO’s cameras are setting up for their next shot and missing all of the good stuff, the substance over the fight hype machine.
“What are you, 2-0?” Algieri asks the bigmouth. “C’mon, baby! We know you’re not ready for this!"
The MMA guy absently tugs at his swollen, cauliflower ear and changes tact. In a thick Long Island accent, he whines, “Chris, I’m just pullin’ your pud. You’re so handsome and so perfect in every way. I can’t lie. You’re my hero. I even got posters of you all over my room. And look how you treat me?”
Algieri cocks his head and brushes away an imaginary teat. He takes out his mouthpiece with his 16-oz gloved paw. “Ever see Pumping Iron?” the champ asks him. “Great documentary. I highly recommend it. It follows Arnold Schwarzenegger in his final Mr. Olympia. He used to destroy his training partner psychologically. Kept them firmly planted under his boot. He was a master manipulator—had it down to a science. So do I.”
