Chris Algieri isn’t one of those boxers who trains in seclusion and lives in primitive conditions to get ready for a fight. The Long Island native is utilizing accommodations at the Venetian Hotel and The Palazzo in Las Vegas as he prepares for his Nov. 22 showdown with Manny Pacquiao in Macau, China.
“I’ve got a nice suite at the Venetian,” Algieri told The Post. “I’m new school. I’m in the new era of training. I don’t need to go through hell before the fight to go through hell during the fight.”
That doesn’t mean Algieri, the unbeaten WBO junior welterweight champion, isn’t sticking to a regimented schedule that will have him in peak condition when he travels to China for the HBO pay-per-view event at the Venetian Macau. The Palazzo, which is connected to the Venetian, built a custom-made training facility specifically for Algieri. Boxing fans visiting the hotel will be able to view parts of his training.
A workout nut with degrees in health and nutrition from Stony Brook University, Algieri already had trained four times within the first 48 hours of landing in Vegas this week. Over the next three weeks, he will spar on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and with condition training on Mondays and Fridays nights. He’ll refine his boxing techniques on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
Just because Algieri is staying at the Venetian-Palazzo doesn’t mean he’s ordering room service. In fact, the hotels have given the boxer access to a kitchen where he prepares his own food.
“I have everything at my disposal, so I can cook my breakfast and dinner,” he said. “I don’t eat anything crazy. I just eat the foods most people should eat: eggs, oatmeal, chicken, broccoli, sweet potatoes, fish and steaks.”
The budget for the mega-bout allows for a few extra amenities that help his body recover from workouts. A former professional kick-boxing champion, Algieri had to work as a personal trainer and nutritionist to supplement his boxing career. For this bout, he can employ a massage therapist and other recovery specialists.
“Financially we have a lot more leeway,” Algieri said. “I don’t have to penny-pinch to get everything I need, especially for recovery. On top of that, I’ve come into camp in fantastic shape. It’s the best shape I think I’ve ever started a camp. We just have to work the strategy, and I’ve left that up to my coaches.”
Algieri, viewed as a real-life Rocky Balboa, remains a big underdog to defeat Pacquiao. But the Long Island long shot from Huntington has been getting a kick out of the increased discussion about Pacquiao facing Floyd Mayweather sometime soon. It’s similar to the premature talk of Ruslan Provodnikov facing Pacquiao before Algieri upset Provodnikov last summer to subsequently earn the match-up with Pacquiao.
“After I beat Manny, he can fight Floyd. That’s fine with me,” Algieri said. “Boxing has worked out for me that when I do what I’m supposed to do I get what I’m supposed to get.”
Algieri will leave for China on Nov. 13.
Gennady Golovkin looks to maintain his hold as the linear middleweight championship Saturday night when he faces veteran Marco Antonio Rubio at the StubHub Center in Carson, Calif. HBO will televise along with a co-feature pitting Nonito Donaire (33-2, 21 KOs) of San Leandro, Calif., against Nicholas Walters (24-0, 20 KOs) of Jamaica. Golovkin (30-0, 27 KOs), of Kazakhstan, is looking to make Rubio (59-6-1, 51 KOs) his 18th straight victim by stoppage.