Interviewed by: Jel Rivera
Photos: Bianca Gerasia
This month we had the privilege of sitting down with former junior welterweight boxing champion and undefeated kickboxer, Chris Algieri. From his modest beginnings in New York to his unexpected rise in the world of professional boxing, Chris embodies the values of humility, resilience, and his unrelenting will to succeed. In this exclusive interview, we uncover the moments of challenge and triumph that have defined his path.
So, for starters, can you tell us about your early life and how you got into kickboxing or even fighting in general?
Chris Algieri: Yeah, I just grew up watching kung-fu movies with my dad mostly, and then I wanted to get into some kind of sport. I played just about everything. My brother was extremely athletic, but I hated team sports, so that’s how I found myself doing martial arts at about eight or nine years old. I went to a live kickboxing fight because we had posters all over my gym. We had some full contact kickboxers that trained at my Dojo, I went to see that fight and after that, I was hooked. I told my dad “that’s what I’m going to do,” and he was like, “yeah... no, talk to your mom.” So yeah, I just pushed for that and had my first fight when I was 15.
In high school, I wrestled because of my martial arts instructor. He pushed me, saying, “You’ve got to play a sport in school. It’s important for development, for making friends,” and he was absolutely right. So, I started wrestling in high school while concurrently doing kickboxing in between seasons as an amateur. I got pretty good at wrestling; I was all-state and captain of my wrestling team my senior year. I won counties in our divisional and then went to the state tournament, placing in the States. I was getting looked at by colleges, but I chose to pursue a professional kickboxing career while I went to college. I literally stayed home and went to a local school so I could stay in my gym, train, and fight throughout my entire undergraduate career.
That was right around the time social media came out. I was selling tickets on social media, making events on Facebook and became popular in the area. I was selling out shows, fought for two world titles and was undefeated, but I always wanted to box. That was always the thing I wanted to do, and as good as my martial arts instructor was at telling me that I should wrestle, he told me I shouldn’t box because it doesn’t work out for most kickboxers in transition… I didn’t listen. I was very stubborn and I wanted to make that transition, so I did. I became a two-time world champion kickboxer and then with boxing I followed a similar path. I built a good fan base for my kickboxing career and brought that with me to my boxing career. So out of the gate I became popular, which helped me sell tickets, get promotion and gain attention. It all led up to becoming a world champion, eventually fighting Manny Pacquiao and getting a bunch of big fights throughout my heyday. I’ve recently retired, so I’m currently working in boxing as a media person.
Right. It never stops, huh?
No. Look, you spend your whole life doing something and you have so much knowledge in it, and it’s something I still love and have a passion for. So, I commentate fights live and I do a daily news broadcast and media regarding boxing.
Going from kickboxing into boxing, what was that transition like in terms of training and dieting?
It was a completely different world. As much as there are a lot of similarities in the sports, the talent pool is so much larger in boxing that the level just goes way up. In kickboxing, I fought guys all over the world, but there’s no real money in it, so guys couldn’t really dedicate their lives the same way. In boxing, you have guys who have literally been doing it since they were children, who are aiming to be the best in the world and make millions of dollars.
When I got into boxing, it was a crash course. I had to learn on the job. I didn’t have any boxing people around me. I literally used my kickboxing coaches as my boxing coaches all the way to a world title. I didn’t have any managers either! I got a lawyer and was dealing with contracts myself, trying to make the right moves. I definitely made some great moves, but also made some bad moves, that was all part of the process.
What about nutrition?
I was pre-med in college and decided to go a different route, choosing the nutrition path. I earned my master’s degree in nutrition and I felt that was going to be a leg up for me in my career. I had no boxing background, zero amateur fights, I went right from kickboxing to pro boxing. I knew that I was a very good athlete and that I had knowledge about how nutrition and the human body work. I was like, ‘I’m just gonna be in better shape than everybody. I’m gonna be a better athlete than everybody. I’m gonna be bigger than everybody because I know how to make weight.’
That was kind of how it worked out in the beginning and it worked really well. As you get to the higher levels, you see that everybody has nutritionists and everybody is athletic, so the higher you climb, the more competitive it becomes. Then, it just really came down to the training, the technique and getting the right coaches and the right training around me. I was just busting my ass man — it was a non-stop grind.
What was it like, balancing school while competing at the highest level?
Zero social life, no girlfriends. School was always important in my family. My mother’s an immigrant. She came here from Argentina when she was about 13 years old. Her father, my grandparents, lived with us as well and they were hard-nosed about education. He was an engineer, my grandfather. He was also the one that got me into boxing and there was no such thing as not getting good grades, that was always ingrained into me from a very young age. With my martial arts background, it was ingrained in me that everything took discipline – everything that was worth a damn was hard to do. I think those two aspects: the education from my family and the idea of discipline and suffering that I learned from martial arts really helped me focus in on college where my grades mattered but also I’m a professional fighter, fighting guys tooth and nail on the weekends while I’m studying for physics exams.
There wasn’t much else, those were the only two things I cared about back then. It’s so funny because everyone was like, “How did you do that? When do you sleep?” But I slept a lot... I slept just fine. I just didn’t hang out and I didn’t have any friends or build a social life at all. I was dead focused on what I was doing. Every person that was around me was either my family or in the gym. School was for me to stay focused and get the work done.
Going back to boxing, can you take us back to June 14, 2014? When you faced Provodnikov – as the underdog in what was the most significant fight in your career at that point, experiencing two knockdowns in the opening round... Walk us through the emotions you grappled with going into the rest of that bout.
Man, it was a rough go. I mean the whole experience was hard. I was in Las Vegas for five weeks leading up to the fight just locked in. The training camp was great, but it was very difficult dealing with injuries and just getting there. The weight of the world [was on] on my shoulders because my family didn’t back what I was doing. They were always wondering when I was going to stop and it became just a runaway train for them. I remember every time I got a cut or a nosebleed my parents were like, “alright are we done yet?” My mom [would say], “Chrissy, are we done yet? You broke your nose; can we stop this now?”
For me, that was all on my back for that fight. I didn’t care what the odds were or what Vegas said, I knew I was winning that fight. When that first round went down and I went down, it literally felt like a hole had been punched in my face. The first punch he landed fractured my orbital and broke my nose and I just saw all those people, who told me I shouldn’t do this, and I was thinking ‘f**k this guy made me a liar!’
You know, I said I was gonna do it, I was saying I was going to be world champion in boxing since I was 14 years old, I told everybody who would listen! So, at that moment, I didn’t [feel like I’d] let them down because they didn’t think I was supposed to be there; I’d let myself down and the fact that I’ve been telling them so ardently that I am going to be a world champion. [I knew I was going to] win this fight, I’m getting emotional thinking about it right now. I wasn’t worried about my face or the fight or the title or any of that, I was worried about all those people I told that I was going to do it for.
I mean New Yorkers have that sort of toughness and resilience, is that where all of that comes from?
As I said, my mother’s an immigrant, she came up hard and came to this country with very little. My dad’s just a blue-collared Italian dude from Long Island, just a greaser working on his car. I always say, he’s kind of like the characters from ‘Grease’ with his rolled-up sleeves working on his car, the classic American story. Then of course the martial arts and discipline and all those things and like you said, New York, man. I mean, I didn’t come up in hard streets, but I still came up around New Yorkers. My brother was an NYPD police officer. He just retired, after 20 years on the job. New York’s a hard place, man, tough people come from here.
So, during that fight, are you aware of what the scorecard should be? Does your corner have an idea?
I knew it was close because of the four-point round in the first round -- so 10-9 round if you lose the round, a knockdown makes it a 10-8, another knockdown makes it a 10-7. So, it’s a three-point round and it’s a huge swing, which was not a round I was winning, so that’s a four-point swing. I know that’s a deep hole, but it’s a 12-round fight and it was my first 12 round fight. I’ve been watching boxing long enough to know that I can make it back, but it’s a hard road and I have to really be in control of this fight.
The real battle was with the doctor in between rounds because he wanted to stop the fight every round and I was pleading with him. I was essentially fighting two fights, I was fighting the doctor and I’m saying, “I’m winning the fight! I’m not getting hit anymore.” My face was falling apart, I knew it looks bad; my nose is bleeding, my eye is swelling every second, but I wasn’t getting hit anymore and I found my timing and rhythm and I was using my length and my speed. So, I kept arguing with him. “I’m fine. I’m fine!” “I’m giving you one more round!” He said that in the sixth round, all the way to the twelfth.
When the fight ended, I was proud of myself because I did everything I could with a horrible start, but I didn’t leave anything in the tank, I didn’t leave any stone unturned. If they robbed me, they robbed me… And he was the favorite obviously. He was the HBO darling and they were trying to make him fight for the Pacquiao fight next.
So, when I was waiting for the announcement of the scorecards, I’m thinking that they’re gonna rob me but again, I know what I did tonight, and the people know what I did. As soon as they gave me that first scorecard — because it was a split decision — they gave him the first scorecard and it was wide and I thought like, ‘yeah, they’re robbing me’. Then when I received the second scorecard, I thought, “oh I won. I won.” I knew that If I could convince just one judge that I’ve won, then I’ve won. The judge who gave [Provodnikov] the scorecard really wide, he probably made his decision in the car on the way here. But, if these guys are actually watching the fight, there’s no chance I lost and sure enough the third judge had the same scorecard as the second, and I won the fight.
You win your first boxing title, and well you seem like a humble guy, but what were some major differences in your lifestyle when you won that championship?
Yeah, that was zero to a thousand. Listen, I never got into this to be famous. I never want to be famous. Honestly fame sucks. I want to be rich haha! Money is great. If I could be rich and nobody knew it, I’d rather that than the other way around. But that was weird, especially in New York. It’s one of the reasons I left New York, honestly because It’s just something I didn’t want to deal with. It felt like I had eyes on me all the time.
I remember once I was in New York City, on a date and I’m holding a Taxi Good Door open for my date. And a guy yells, “Hey Chris!” He knows me, but he said it in a way that made me think I knew him, but I didn’t. And listening, like you said I’m a humble guy. I will take photos with anybody; I’ll sign whatever, but it’s just nice to be able to shut it off. But yeah, that was crazy. And then the Press tour for the Manny Pacquiao fight, flying private jets all over the world, staying in the nicest hotels all the time, constantly speaking on a dais in front of thousands of people where millions of people are gonna watch it. It was crazy. I mean I went from fighting in my hometown in February of 2014 to fighting in Macau eight months later. It was a whirlwind.
You brought up the Pacquiao fight and you also mentioned fighting outside of New York.. that’s your first fight outside of your hometown, and unfortunately you receive your first loss in your career, how did that affect you emotionally and mentally?
I mean, I thought I was winning that fight. It’s Manny Pacquiao, obviously. He’s a legend and an amazing fighter. It was weird because coming into fight week, I was feeling great. We were ready. Everything was good. I mean, being in Macau was tough; it was far, and we fought at like 11 AM on a Sunday; the timing was all strange.
But I remember fighting — it was the second round — I slipped on water, and I went down, and the ref starts counting. And I remember I had this come-to-Jesus moment; I looked around and I realized… I’m not here to win this fight. Nobody here wants me to win. It was like, man, the writing was on the wall the whole time. And that threw me off so bad, and then he just cracked me, haha! He hit me with a really good shot later on, and I was hurt for multiple rounds after. I’ve never been that hurt for so long. He hit so hard and he’s fast man. Manny is amazing.
From then on, I was behind the eight ball. Not only because of what I’d realize, but also [because] I was hurt, and I was trying to come back and getting those rounds and just — Manny is a different thing from Ruslan; he’s much savvier. And the cat was out of the bag about me. You know, everybody knew I was tough, everybody knew I could fight. With Ruslan, they just thought I was going there to get run over, but Manny was smarter than that. Manny’s coach is Freddie Roach, same coach as Provodnikov, so Freddie knew what I was at that point. And he was like, “I’m not losing to this kid again.” He told me that, so [Manny] was a much different situation.
But, after that fight it was heartbreaking; it crushed my world. And it wasn’t even so much about losing but it’s the way I lost; it was embarrassing. I was very embarrassed about the fight. It wasn’t my best, and I knew that. It was very eye-opening, and I just didn’t understand the business of the sport then like I did after that. So, things changed quite a bit — the rest of my career changed because of that. Understanding the powers that be, how things work, and how to negotiate better all came into play.
What was your favorite match that you either fought in, commentated for or even just simply watched? And why?
Man, so many, wow. I gotta go with one that was live because I have fights that I love watching a million times over and over again. I think I’m gonna do Oscar De La Hoya and Fernando Vargas. That was such a grudge match. Oscar was my hero growing up, and my grandfather loved him too. He was just so damn good and Fernando was streaking and such a badass — he actually got popped for steroids, and that’s in that fight. So, he looked like the Terminator! It came out of nowhere. But, they were going back and forth, I mean edgewise – round: De La Hoya, round: Vargas. Just back and forth back and forth. They’re cut, they’re bloody, had the bad blood; talking s** in between rounds. And then man, Oscar ices him with a left hook, sets it up beautifully, hurts him. And I love Fernando too, he’s actually a friend of mine.
That fight I mean, just the ebbs and the flows, the passion that was involved, the energy involved at that moment… that one rings very true to me in terms of fights that I watched live — I wasn’t there but I watch it on TV. Yeah, that’s the one!
So, you receive your bachelor’s degree in 2007 for health care management. You get your nutrition license in 2012, but also your master’s degree in clinical nutrition at NYT in 2012. Given your education, what’s the best nutritional advice you can give?
I always say it’s a two-pronged approach. You can’t just diet and be healthy. You can’t just workout and be healthy. You have to do both and the reason for that is — what is health really? Well, there’s lifespan and there’s health span, and we all want to live a healthy life for a long time, we don’t want to just live long. You don’t want to be living sick, which a lot of people do. So, in terms of living a healthful lifespan, you’ve got to diet and exercise there is not one without the other for a true pinnacle of health.
From world titles to your degrees to published books and podcasts, and now nutritional coach, through all of that what was the toughest moment for you and why?
Hanging them up, definitely. Look, I was ready to retire for sure, but it was a painful realization more than anything. It was more internal, but it was something that I was thinking about for a long time. I remember reading this book, I can’t remember the name of it, but it was a quick short story and it was about a runner. He talked about how it’s inevitable for every athlete to get slower and weaker and end up falling out of the race, and it could be any competition, it doesn’t matter what it is. I remember reading that in my 20s and thinking, “That’s heavy. That sucks, that’s gonna happen to me.” Eventually it does and that’s a stage of your life when you realize, “Yeah, I’m not the same as I was. This body is different from the one I used to know.” and that’s every year of your life, you’re never the same. So, just putting that into perspective and realizing that you’re a human being when you’ve been a Superman for decades... that was the hardest part..
And what has been your biggest accomplishment?
I think what you said staying humble. As much as I’ve done all these things—I like just being a dude, I’m a guy. I just want to be a regular person. I want to be able to just be the husband, be the dad, be the brother, be the son.
Not only are you humble, you’re also a multi-talented individual. Speak on how you’re able to seamlessly shift gears, whether it be writing a book, perusing your master’s degree, or starting a podcast, and excelling at each one?
I think I bring a lot of the mindsets that I had in the gym to everyday situations — I’m super competitive — I want to be the best in everything, but I guess that also stems from being in the gym. So, I always said that one: you have to be the hardest worker in the room, and number two: show up in shape, because you can learn faster the better shape you are. If you’re starting from behind, the way I did — because there’s always somebody who started before you — it’s not just how much time you put in It’s the quality of the time and if I’m in better shape, the quality of my training time will be better. I always say being smart isn’t just about being educated, it’s about thinking fast and speed kills in every situation — in boxing, in thinking, in speaking, in negotiations, speed kills. So being able to work faster, harder, longer takes being in condition, whether it’s physical conditioning; my cardiovascular is good and I’m physically strong. Or, if it’s in mental acuity; I’m in shape and I’m condition to go. Or, if it’s just spiritual endurance; to be able to show up and be ready all the time. How many times have we showed up just not been there? And now you’re wasting time. We all got to deal with time, but you can deal with it in different ways. I think bringing that from the gym into everything else in my life, with the fact that I’m super competitive and I want to win, I think that’s my motivation just to win.
And what would be your advice to any young fighter coming up?
Those two things man, just show up in shape and be willing to learn from multiple sources, and out work everyone around you. If you really want it, the pain of being tired shouldn’t be enough to stop you.
Now for some random questions…. What is your grooming routine like? Haha!
I’ve been shaving a lot more now that I’m on TV and stuff. I used to never really shave. During training I would have a beard because I would protect my skin. Now I shave a lot that. I’m older so I use eye creams and stuff. I definitely take a lot better care of my face now. Surprisingly, all the years fighting, when we spar we put grease and Vaseline on our face. I think that always helped protect my skin even outside of getting hit, and that kept my face moisturized. [So now], I’ve actually cared about my grooming rather than just caring about my training. So yeah, my hair is pretty dry because a lot of moisturizers are usually coconut cream stuff like that and then just eye creams and whatnot them keep the wrinkles at Bay and shave a lot more which I never really used it.
I mean it’s been said that you have one of the best hairstyles as a fighter. How long does it take you to do your hair?
Not long at all. Haha! Yeah, I mean my barber definitely helps but I’ve had a bunch of different iterations of my hair. My friends always joke, I take a hat off and its like, “How does this guy look so good?!”
One meal for the rest of your life. What would it be?
That’s an easy one. Steak, potatoes and some wine.
A not-so-healthy meal that you’d indulge in?
A real Burger. I mean a real f***ing burger! Big, thick, New York diner burger. Juicy bacon lettuce tomato, all that good stuff!
What can we see from you in the coming years?
I mean, if you watch Boxing, my goal is for my face to be seen. I want to be everywhere; calling fights, doing the media, going to fights, my podcast. I want that to grow to be something massive! Something that everybody tunes into and everybody has to hear. Everybody has to hear what the hell I have to say.
And last and final question. Finish this sentence; Chris Algieri is known for...
Being a professional. Showing up, prepared and executing.
Perfect. Well thank you so much for your time, man! It has been a pleasure!
Absolutely, good stuff. Thank you!
For more from Chris Algieri, you can check out at
@chris_algieri, Inside Boxing Live Podcast & ProboxTV