Ibinunyag ni Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach na makikita niya kung saang timbang nababagay si Pambansang Kamao Manny Pacquiao sa pagdepensa nito ng WBO welterweight title kay WBO junior welterweight champion Chris Algieri sa catchweight na 144-pounds sa Nobyembre 22 sa Macau, China.

Sa panayam ni boxing writer Edward Chaykovsky ng BoxingScene.com, magpapasiya si Roach kung mananatili si Pacquiao sa 147-pounds division o babalik sa junior welterweight limit na 140-pounds.

Huling nanalo sa knockout si Pacquiao sa 12th round stoppage victory noong 2009 laban kay Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto para masungkit ang welterweight title ng WBO.

“When you are fighting a 147-pounder and you only weigh 135 yourself or 140, you are in there against much stronger guys and Manny only has two knockouts as a welterweight and he has a lot of knockouts at 135 and 140 and the thing is this is a catchweight of 144, and if he feels good at 144 we may go to 140 again,” paliwanag ni Roach. “At 140, he will be a better puncher than at 147 because the guys are smaller and not as strong.”

Aminado si Roach na napakaliit ni Pacquiao sa welterweight division kaya hindi na ito makapagpatulog ng mas malalaking kalaban. Sa laban kay Algieri, plano niyang gumawa ng plano para mahadlangan ang epektibong jabs ng Amerikano.

“[Algieri] has a great jab. The jab is the best punch in boxing – guys like Virgil Hill and Larry Holmes won world titles with the jab, so it’s something we really have to concentrate on,” ani Roach. “We have to take that jab away from him and we have a game plan on how to do that and we are working on that every day.”

“And that’s why [Victor] Postol was brought in, because he has a very good jab like Algieri. Now, he is a little bit taller than Algieri and has a longer reach but it gives a good idea about what to expect in the fight,” dagdag ni Roach.