Pacquiao seeks his "most impressive performance" against Algieri

Straight from HBO's training blogs on both fighters during interviews on Monday, both Manny Pacquiao and Chris Algieri discuss their upcoming clash. Pacquiao kicked off the interview by answering a question about the problem Chris Algeiri poses to him.

"Chris Algieri poses many puzzles for me to solve. In terms of his height and reach, only Antonio Margarito surpasses him in the scope of opponents I have faced. Algieri is also the most scientific, fluid and fittest fighter I have ever opposed. All of those factors, plus he is five years younger than me, make him the most dangerous opponent of my career.

"To me, boxing is a lot like chess. You don't just move a piece and wait for your opponent to respond, you have to see the board and think 10-to-12 moves ahead and anticipate the variables your opponent may counter with. Algieri does that and he does that very well. If you look at his recent fights - against Mike Arnaoutis, Emmanuel Taylor and Ruslan Provodnikov - each victory for him was considered an upset.

"Yet Algieri never considered himself an underdog; he went into each fight confident and with the right game plan and no matter what happened in the ring, he was disciplined enough to stay with that game plan and it worked. He outfought them and out-thought them. Algieri's reach and height will require me to work on closing the distance with him in the ring and I will need my speed more than ever to be able to score damaging blows to him while avoiding his own counters.

"I watched him fight Provodnikov and he fought the perfect fight against him. But I do not intend to fight Algieri's fight. I intend on fighting my fight and, more importantly, making him fight my fight. This will be a battle of wills as much as it will be a battle of blows. There will be a lot more going on in the ring than fans will realize and it will be fast and it will be exciting. There are no shortcuts to victory.

"My success begins and ends in training camp. You win a fight by winning each round and it is the same in training camp. I give my all each and every day - running in the morning, working out in gym and praying in my home - and focus on being the best I can be physically, mentally and spiritually. That is how I am preparing to fight Chris Algieri. I am sacrificing everything to defeat him and produce not just a convincing victory but my most impressive performance."

Chris Algieri was asked about his background as a nutritionist and how that plays a role in preparing himself for a 12-round fight.

"I average between eight to nine hours a sleep a night and day between naps. I generally eat between five to seven times a day, around 3500 calories during training camp. I eat lots of fresh fruits and colorful veggies to help with recovery.

"I also eat a lot of complex grains and no processed foods. I prepare and cook about 90 percent of my own food and meals. I train six days a week. Most days I train twice a day. I do strength and conditioning twice a week, cardio four times a week and boxing five days a week.

"With my cardio, I do more sprint work then distance work but I alternate between the two. I also get weekly massages for recovery, once a week and take an ice bath after every sparring session, which is not fun but it is necessary.

"I take a very scientific and calculated approach to everything I do when in training leading up to the fight and in the ring on fight night. Manny said that I will be the most conditioned and smartest fighter that he will ever face. He is right."

I can't say that the colorful veggies will win him the fight, but surely if you're looking to shed a few pounds - Chris Algieri is your man.