A former Manny Pacquiao opponent believes the legend should fight on despite the Mario Barrios draw.
While one judge had given the fight in favour of Pacquiao, the other two scored it 114-114, a majority draw, which meant Barrios remained world champion.
The 46-year-old felt he was hard done by on the scorecards, and if he had won, he should have fought another young opponent like former undisputed king Devin Haney in a super-fight.
Photo by Harry How/Getty Images
Logically, ‘Pac-Man’ should now go for the rematch with ‘El Azteca’ as he held his own, but it seems he has his sights set on another titleholder in the division.
Chris Algieri believes Manny Pacquiao should fight trash-talking champion Rolly Romero
Rolly Romero has emerged as a name to compete against the all-time great, and it makes sense with him holding a version of the WBA welterweight title.
Ex-world champion Chris Algieri believes it is the perfect fight to sell on the Filipino’s comeback tour.
Speaking on BoxingScene, Algieri explained: “When you look at Rolly Romero, he is not that big, he’s not a real welterweight.
“Isaac Cruz, who is a blown-up lightweight, blasted him out, so I think they are looking at that fight against Romero not to be as physically imposing as Barrios.
“In terms of that fight, I don’t hate it, I think the build-up will be great, Mario was not the most marketable guy… But Rolly, that guy can sell.”
A successful bid at welterweight saw Romero shock Ryan Garcia in Times Square, knocking down ‘King Ry’ en route to a unanimous decision victory.
Continuing on the subject of the 29-year-old, the former Pacquiao opponent made a funny remark about how good the American is at selling his fights.
“I don’t think he cares. I would watch Rolly do laundry; he is hilarious,” he laughed.
Although targeted by British fighter Conor Benn, the Pride of the Philippines only seems interested in the big American names with world honours.
Chris Algieri wants to end world title elevation in boxing, takes shot at Mario Barrios
This WBO super lightweight champion knows what it takes to win a belt outright with his split decision win over Ruslan Provodnikov, his crowning moment.
Which is why he has come out firing on the idea of elevating interim champions before they even fight for a full world championship.
In the interview, he complained: “This whole elevation without winning a fight thing is garbage. Look at Barrios, Barrios has not won a fight yet at welterweight.
“He got the interim title, then was elevated and has had two back-to-back draws.
“The man has not won a title fight yet, so we’ve got to stop this email champion, elevation thing.”
A similar situation could happen with Romero since WBA champion Jaron Ennis has left the welterweight division, which would make him the favourite to fight ‘Pac’.