Freddie Roach: Long Island's Chris Algieri 'in over his head with' Manny Pacquiao

MACAU, China -- Freddie Roach the fighter could take big punches. Freddie Roach the trainer can throw even bigger ones.

See some of the verbal jabs Roach launched in recent weeks as his fighter Manny Pacquiao, an eight-time world champion, prepares to fight Long Island's Chris Algieri here at the Cotai Arena on Saturday night.

-- "He's a cocky kid. He's in over his head with Pacquiao. That master's degree in nutrition is not gonna help him."

-- "If he has any guts at all and wants to fight us a little bit and he's going for the world title, I think we'll knock him out."

-- "I don't care how many protein shakes he drinks a day, Manny is gonna kick his [butt]."

Roach also has said that Pacquiao's sparring partners are better fighters than Algieri, and that Algieri doesn't have enough power "to break an egg" with his punches. Expect similar commentary from Roach at the pre-fight news conference here Wednesday and the trainers' roundtable discussion Thursday.

Part of boxing is bravado. Big talk conveys self-confidence. It also creates headlines and pay-per-view buys. You'll never hear a fighter or trainer in a pre-fight interview say they plan on getting knocked out or losing the bout.

SEE PHOTOSPacquiao-Algieri

Algieri trainer Keith Trimble of Bellmore Kickboxing Academy treats Roach's comments for what they are: words.

"I actually like reading the stuff, all the haters and doubters and this and that," Trimble said. "I think it just adds fuel to the fire to prove people wrong."

"I laugh at all that, it's just words. At the end of the day, on November 22, there are going to be two guys in that ring and that's it. They're gonna fight, you're gonna get a winner, you're gonna get a loser . . . I mean, it's possible a draw, but you're gonna get a winner and a loser most likely, and that's it.

Roach saw first-hand what Algieri can do in the ring. He cornered Ruslan Provodnikov last June at the Barclays Center when Algieri (20-0, 8 knockouts) took his title by split decision and set off a series of life-changing events for the undefeated 30-year-old who still lives in a basement apartment at his parents' home and drives a car with more than 200,000 miles on it.

"Whatever he says in the media now about what I did or didn't do in the Ruslan fight, or what he's gonna do with me and Manny Pacquiao, I know that he knows that I'm a good fighter," Algieri said. "He knows that I have intangibles that's going to make this a very, very live fight."

By Mark La Monica

mark.lamonica@newsday.comLaMonicaMark

Mark La Monica is a deputy sports editor at Newsday. He also covers mixed martial arts.