Chris Algieri

Algieri turned pro in 2008, and put together a record of 18–0 with 8 knockouts. Most fights, he moved between light welterweight and welterweight. On February 14, 2014, Algieri won a unanimous ten-round decision over Emmanuel Taylor, an IBF number four ranked contender, at the Paramount Theatre in Huntington, Long Island, New York, to enter the world rankings.[11]

Algieri had accumulated wins over the likes of top prospect Jose Alejo, a bout featured on NBC Sports Network and former United States Boxing Association (USBA) Champion Mike Arnaoutis prior to the Taylor fight, and he reached 10–0 when Joe DeGuardia's Star Boxing signed him.[12][13]

On June 14, 2014, Algieri got the chance of a lifetime as he faced and defeated the newly crowned WBO junior welterweight champion Ruslan Provodnikov, headlining on HBO's "Boxing After Dark" card at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.[14] Algieri was seen as a warm-up fight for Provodnikov, which seemed to be the case as early on Algieri was dropped and hurt twice, with his eye swelling grotesquely, essentially blinding him for the rest of the fight, it all seemed to be over. However, Algieri fought back and began to box for the remainder of the fight, using his strong jab to keep his opponent back and moved on the outside, avoiding his Russian counterparts big looping shots. The bout went the full 12 rounds and Algieri won via split decision to become the new WBO junior welterweight champion. Algieri received his biggest purse at the time, $100,000 for the bout.[15] Algieri landing 288 of 993 punches (29%), 177 of 427 (41%) power shots. Provodnikov landed 205 of his 776 punches thrown (26%), which included 164 of 434 power shots (38%). Many media outlets either had Provodnikov winning wide or Algieri winning a close decision.[16] The fight generated high ratings for Algieri's HBO debut, averaging 1.046 million viewers, and peaking at 1.1 million viewers.[17]

After proving himself in the Provodnikov fight, Algieri was given a big shot as he fought legendary boxer Manny Pacquiao on November 23, 2014, in Macau, for the latter's WBO Welterweight title, it was Algieri's first fight outside the State of New York.[18] Algieri was stripped of his belt at 140 as WBO rules mandate a fighter of theirs can only hold belts in one division at a time. Algieri was a big underdog coming in, and in a relatively one-sided bout, Pacquiao knocked Algieri down six times and made him tumble repeatedly en route to defeating him via one-sided unanimous decision, ending Algieri's undefeated streak.[19]

On April 3, 2015, Amir Khan announced via his wife's YouTube channel that he had agreed to a May 30 welterweight bout with Algieri in New York. The fight was later finalized on April 15, and subsequently set for May 29 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Algieri coming off the Pacquiao loss was seen as an easy touch for Khan by many. But with his new trainer John David Jackson, Algieri hatched a fight plan to be aggressive and apply pressure in the bout, when he usually fights on the outside with a strong jab. He entered the bout weighing more than Khan, and in the fight many commented on how much Algieri had improved since the Pacquiao fight, and that he looked the stronger and fitter of the two. Algieri instantly began cutting down the ring and had Khan backing up fast and unable to land his quick combinations. Algieri, who is not really known as a puncher was able to rock Khan with a big shot early on, and Algieri chased Khan the whole night, landing big punches in every round and finished the night strongly. Khan went on to win the fight via unanimous decision after 12 rounds of boxing, many believing him to win widely on the cards as he was able to steal many of the rounds in the last 10 seconds. Algieri however, believed that he had, in fact, won the bout.[20][21][22] Khan made $1.5 million and Algieri earned a $500,000 purse.[23][24] The fight, which took place on Spike, averaged 1 million viewers and peaked at 1.2 million.[25]

On December 5, 2015, Algieri knocked down Ecuadorian Erick Bone (16–2, 8 KOs) in the 8th round to win via unanimous decision. Bone was coming off a 5th-round knockout loss to Shawn Porter.[26]

On February 23, 2016, it was announced that Algieri would take on one of welterweights hottest prospects Errol Spence Jr. (19-0, 16 KOs) on April 16 at the Barclays Center where he was (2-2) against opponents.[27][28] This fight was important to both Algieri, who had to redeem himself in the division after losing to Khan and Pacquiao, and important to Spence as he wanted to make a statement in the division as a rising star against a former titleholder. Spence dominated the bout with jabs in center ring and won every round. Algieri moved well and tried to both land jabs and counter. Algieri went down once in the fourth round and twice in the fifth round. Spence finished him on the ropes. The time of stoppage was 0:48 of round 5. It was the first time Algieri had been stopped inside the distance. Algieri received a purse of $325,000 with which he was unhappy. Spence earned $225,000.[29][30]

In October 2018, after around two-and-a-half years out of the ring, primarily working as a nutritionist for several boxers, Algieri announced he would be returning to The Paramount in Huntington, New York on November 30, 2018. Algieri was a poster boy for The Paramount Theatre, having eight consecutive fights there between 2011 and 2014. Algieri re-signed with former long-time promoter Joe DeGuardia and Star Boxing.[31] It was announced he would fight journeyman Angel Hernandez (14–11–2, 9 KOs), although a catchweight was not confirmed.[32] In front of a sold-out crowd, Algieri defeated Hernandez after 10 rounds via unanimous decision. Using high work rate, Algieri took control from the opening bell. Fighting under Andre Rozier for the first time, Algieri displayed tremendous hand speed. For his part, Hernandez tried to move forward but was unable to keep up with Algieri's boxing skills. After 10 rounds, the fight was scored 100–90, 100–90, and 99–91 for Algieri.[33]

In early December 2018, it was reported that Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn was looking to match WBO light welterweight champion Maurice Hooker (25-0-1, 19 KOs) with more credible opponents in 2019. Hearn planned for Algieri and Jorge Linares to fight in separate bouts on his January 18, 2019 DAZN card.[34] Later that month, Boxing Scene announced Algieri would fight in a 10-round bout against 28-year-old Danny Gonzalez (17–1–1, 7 KOs), who was on a 3-fight win streak since suffering his sole loss. Gonzalez and Algieri were former sparring partners. The card would take place at the Hulu Theater in New York City.[35] In what was considered a close bout, Algieri defeated Gonzalez via unanimous decision after 10 rounds. The three judges scored the bout 98–92, 97–93, and 96–94 in favour of Algieri. The decision came with boos from the crowd, who felt the scores did not reflect the fight. Algieri started the fight with his jab, keeping Gonzalez at a distance, this was until Gonzalez got through and managed to cause a cut under Algieri's left eye. Seeing this as motivation, Gonzalez tried to pile on pressure, but was only able to land no more than two shots at a time. In round 10, Gonzalez managed to trap Algieri but did not land any clean shots until Algieri was able to break free. Speaking to DAZN, after the bout, Algieri said, "I am my biggest critic and this performance wasn’t my best. I got the win and I am moving on [...] I felt a little off today. You go back to the drawing board and look to come back better.”[36][37]

On May 3, 2019, it was announced that Algieri would fight British boxer Tommy Coyle (25–4, 12 KOs) on the Anthony Joshua vs. Andy Ruiz Jr on June 1, at Madison Square Garden in New York on DAZN. Algieri believed a win over Coyle, would bring him closer to another world title opportunity. He said, “I'd like to thank my entire team for making this possible and for their total support of my quest to once again become a world champion.”[38][39] Algieri reiterated his desire to challenge for the WBO title against Hooker, claiming he did not lose the belt in the ring.[40]