Can John David Jackson Elevate Chris Algieri's Game?

Some people find a way to rise above the dark clouds in life

Okay, so everyone's had their fun laughing over Chris Algeiri's corner during last November's disastrous bout against Manny Pacquiao in Macao. It's time to move on, folks. People make mistakes. Sometimes very embarrassing ones. Yet they move on - and sometimes those bad moments even end up being long forgotten over time.

Remember Joe Biden's plagiarism scandal during the 1988 Democratic Party Presidential Primaries? Didn't think so. You get my point, then.

The truth is that Algieri has altered his camp a bit so now Mr. John David Jackson is at the helm. You may not have known who Jackson was a year ago, but if you've been following the career trajectory of one Sergey Kovalev, you probably know exactly who he is now.

For it was Jackson who led Kovalev to his brilliant - and I mean brilliant - victory over the legendary Bernard Hopkins last fall. Who would ever have thought the Russian could best "The Alien" through the use of strength and distance? Jackson did. That's why, for my money, he deserved to be up for trainer of the year in 2014.

Yup, Jackson's good. Make no mistake about it. That's one of the reasons why it's wise to continue to give Algieri serious attention. Algieri may never have been able to best Pacquiao in China, but one gets the impression it would have been a much closer fight if Jackson had been in command of the Algieri war room. For "champion lifestyle" would have been combined with "champion strategy."

Again, that probably still wouldn't have done the trick - but the Long Island native would have looked a whole lot better in the ring that evening. And chances are, Algieri will look a whole lot better the next time he's in action.

Word is a bout with Amir Khan looms on the horizon. Fans don't seem too happy about it, but I'm not willing to write it off as a dud. Khan's is a vastly under-rated talent, as far as I'm concerned. And Algeiri? Well, with Jackson in his corner, he may be let of the cage for real this time.

And, if you step back and think about it, that's no joke.