Chris Algieri’s promoter arguing to keep fighter’s 140-pound title

REPORTING FROM MACAO, China — The promoter for Chris Algieri will meet later this week with the head of the World Boxing Organization to resolve the possible stripping of Algieri’s 140-pound world-title belt.

Algieri promoter Joe DeGuardia said he’ll urge WBO President Paco Valcarcel to allow New York’s Algieri (20-0) to await the outcome of his Sunday morning [Macao time] welterweight world title fight against Manny Pacquiao before choosing his next bout.

Should Algieri produce a stunning upset, a rematch clause will be exercised and he’d defend a new WBO welterweight belt, DeGuardia said.

Should he lose, Algieri has until mid-March — nine months from the date of his June upset of hard-hitting Ruslan Provodnikov — to defend the 140-pound belt against one of the WBO’s top 15 contenders of his choosing.

The WBO informed Algieri earlier this month that it intended to strip him of the 140-pound belt as soon as the fight against Pacquiao begins.

“Win, lose or draw [Sunday], that [140-pound] title is his,” DeGuardia said. “Chris’ position is he’s here to win the 147-pound title.

“But the WBO has precedent to allow a champion to fight for another belt, and this is their own belt. That’s the way I’m expecting them to rule [this week], and frankly, that’s what’s going to happen — one way or another.

“He shouldn’t lose it out of the ring.”

Algieri, after all, only opted to pursue the fight of a lifetime.

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