Roy Jones, Jr. sees a great fight; Bob Arum hopes for a Pacquiao win

MACAU – Four-division champion Roy Jones, Jr. billed the Pacquiao-Algieri match-up as a great fight. Top Rank promoter Bob Arum said it’s going to be a competitive fight.

The fight between boxing’s only eight-division champion Manny Pacquiao and the undefeated WBO junior welterweight champion Chris Algieri needs no hype judging from the media turnout that came all over the world to cover here in the former Portuguese colony.

It will be four times bigger than the Pacquiao-Brandon Rios fight last year, according to Arum.

“It’s gonna be a very good fight, very competitive fight. Chris Algieri is very confident. So Manny is gonna have his work cut out for him But Manny is in great shape,” Arum told Philstar.com right after the grand arrival at the Porte Cochere in Venetial Hotel.

Jones Jr., who is here to do TV commentary for the bout is excited because of both boxers’ styles. He was also here when Pacquiao beat Rios last year but he believes this is going to be a much better fight than that.

“It’s always a great fight to see a match-up between an aggressive puncher and a boxer-puncher. Manny Pacquiao is an aggressive puncher while Chris Algieri is a boxer-puncher,” Jones, Jr. said.

If Pacquiao can take care of his business here, all signs point to the most anticipated fight in boxing of this generation – the mega-buck showdown between him and Floyd Mayweather, Jr. next year.   

Arum, who is already talking to the people that will help him stage a fight that will rival the Thrilla in Manila and Rumble in the Jungle as the biggest fight in the history of boxing, is crossing his fingers that the Pacquiao-Mayweather will happen sooner than later.

But first things first, Pacquiao needs an impressive win on Sunday.  

“Let’s hope that Manny will win this fight and then we can look forward to that possibility,” Arum said.