Chris Algieri: 'We're all fighting for a shot at Floyd Mayweather'

After suffering the first loss of his career - a thorough, six-knockdown beating in Macau at the hands of Manny Pacquiao last November - Chris Algieri realized he needed to make some changes.

Algieri, 31, who had never fought outside of New York before traveling halfway around the globe to the Chinese island resort, found that fighting in the big leagues - and facing Ruslan Provodnikov and Pacquiao back to back most assuredly is boxing's big leagues - required the services of a big-league coach.

So Algieri hired one of the best in the business, John David Jackson, as his head trainer, replacing longtime cornerman Tim Lane. Jackson is best known for his work with undefeated Russian light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev.

"I had to look at what was going on with my career and my team and make adjustments," Algieri told Paste BN Sports in a phone interview. "It's a learning experience, and I'm still young in my career. In my 21st fight I was fighting a Hall of Famer in Manny Pacquiao, (who has had) more than 60 fights. It's one of those things where experience is a big factor, and I needed to make some adjustments.

"We've done that and moving forward, and that (Pacquiao) fight is only going to make me a better fighter and a better person for the rest of my career and my life."

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The rest of his career begins back in New York on Friday night at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, when Algieri meets England's Amir Khan, who matches Pacquiao in foot and hand speed if not quality of opponents, in a 12-round non-title fight (Spike, 9 p.m. ET). The Premier Boxing Champions card has much at stake beyond title belts.

It's no secret that Khan (30-3, 19 KOs) is fighting for a ticket to the Floyd Mayweather sweepstakes. At the moment he appears to be the frontrunner. Algieri believes whoever wins this fight will be the frontrunner.

"We're all fighting for a shot at Mayweather," he said, when asked if Khan's presumed shot at Mayweather makes him a more determined and dangerous opponent. "(Floyd is) the money guy, that's what everyone's working for. He's the best in the world. Whether you're fighting just for money or you're fighting for the competition of it all, he's the one.

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"He's the best there is. That's the guy you want to fight, the guy you want to beat. So I don't think that makes Khan any more dangerous than anyone else."

Khan says it would be a mistake to look past Algieri (20-1, 8 KOs), who has not fought since Pacquiao.

"Winning this fight is everything to me," Khan said. "I know it's a very dangerous fight for me. Stylistically he's very dangerous, and I'm not going to be looking past it. If I do, I'll have made a mistake. I've looked past fights and made mistakes. It will put me right back where I don't want to be."

Working with Jackson, said Algieri, who holds a masters degree in nutrition from New York Technological Institute, has been all he had hoped for.

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"It was funny, the first time we came down to train (in Boca Raton, Fla.) with John, and I had (former fighter and now Algieri's business manager) Kevin Rooney Jr. with me, John was taking me through workouts. Normally my conditioning is something I work on with my strength coach or on my own, I'm a year-round training kind of guy. But even John's boxing style is very intensive, conditioning-wise, and Kevin said, 'It's crazy to think, but I think you're actually going to be in better shape working with John, better boxing shape.' His style of training is using my athleticism for boxing. Not making me a better athlete like I was in the past, but making me a better boxer."

Finding the proper sparring partners has been the biggest challenge for Algieri on his way up to the sport's elite level.

"At this point in my career, I'm fighting the top .01% of the guys," Algieri said. "If I could find sparring partners that could mimic Amir Khan and Manny Pacquiao and Ruslan Provodnikov, they would be superstars themselves. The hard part about fighting at this level is finding the right sparring partners. . . . Coach Jackson has done a tremendous amount of research for this fight. We think there's a good game plan in place and we've had so many sparring partners down here, it's been a test every day.

"I know Khan is a fast guy, but I'm coming off fighting a fast guy so it's not like I'm changing up speeds much. Fighting Pacquiao is a good lead-in to fighting someone like Khan. Khan is a much more orthodox puncher, even beyond southpaw and conventional, than Pacquiao is. Pacquiao throws punches from a lot of crazy angles and still generates a lot of power. Khan is more traditional (with) his boxing style and punching techniques."

His loss to Pacquiao has not shaken Algieri's confidence. Indeed, it has bolstered it.

"Since the Pacquiao fight, I feel better in sparring, I feel more aggressive and sure of myself," he said. "When you've been in with the best in the world, everyone else is . . . well, everyone else. That's the mentality I'm bringing into the gym and the mentality I will bring into the ring (on Friday)."