In what was the biggest fight of his career so far, Algieri came up woefully short, as he was thoroughly dominated by Pacquiao in their 12-round encounter. The American tasted the canvas six times and simply did not have the strength or speed to keep up with the "Pacman."
"This is not exactly how I expected to be up here," Algieri said in the post-fight press conference, after he lost via unanimous decision. "I expected to be 21-0 at this point."
"I'm very disappointed, but this is boxing," he added. "Manny Pacquiao is a great champion. I said prior (to the fight) that it is an honor to share a ring with him, and I still feel that way."
"The man is exactly what he's billed as – he's a great champion, he's an all-time great, he's one of the best fighters in his era."
The 30-year-old Algieri, who lost for the first time in his career, said he would take the fight's events as a "learning experience."
"I'm gonna take this as a learning experience to pursue my own career and to get better, and to have something to look forward to and reach out for," said Algieri.
Algieri believed that he was doing well in the early goings of the fight, despite having gone down twice in the second round.
"I was trying to establish the game plan. It was going well early. I wanted to slow it down in the beginning, and then look to pick it up as the fight went on," said the American.
"I felt comfortable on the way to that, but Manny's adjustments were flawless, and he's a great fighter. It's just one of those things," Algieri also said.
"It's a learning experience, and it's not gonna shake my confidence in my ability. I'm still proud of my skills, I'm just dominated with the way the fight went."
As for his future, Algieri said he will go back to the drawing board but insists that he can fight at either light-welterweight or welterweight.
"I could have made 140 (pounds) for this fight. It's not an issue of where I have to go, but that's an option – I could go in either weight class," he said.
"I can contest at either weight class, and I'll go to my team and figure out the best route for 2015," he added.
source: www.abs-cbnnews.com
