Photo: Ed Diller/DiBella Entertainment

Chris Algieri didn’t make the post-fight press conference after his disappointing performance against Errol Spence Jr. on Saturday.

His promoter, Joe DeGuardia, said Algieri went to a local hospital to have his right knee examined after he hurt it on one of the three knockdowns he suffered.

Kevin Rooney, who advises Algieri, said in a text on Sunday the boxer from Long Island bent his knee awkwardly and it “gave out on him” on one of the knockdowns. Algieri plans to see a specialist on Monday to see if the injury requires any more attention. Rooney said he’s had issues with the knee in the past.

When Algieri is fully recovered, Algieri and his promoter will try to breathe new life into his career, which is in a bit of a nosedive after he was stopped in the fifth round on Saturday. Algieri has now lost three of his last four, though the losses have all been against elite talent.

DeGuardia said that Algieri will likely opt for another high-risk, high-reward fight against an elite opponent to further capitalize on his unique personal story and his still-evolving skills. Algieri was a champion kick-boxer with little boxing experience before he turned pro in 2008.

“From a strictly boxing standpoint, I’d like to get him a tuneup fight,” DeGuardia said after the post-fight press conference. “Truthfully, me I’d love to tell him, ‘Let’s go back to the Paramount (in Long Island where Algieri started his career), get a win, go in front of your fans, give something back to the people and get a nice win under your belt.'”

But he doubts the hyper-competitive Algieri will go that route. “When you look at something from a strictly boxing standpoint, what’s good versus what he might want to do from a financial standpoint could be different,” DeGuardia said. “I’m sure he’s going to want to fight a top level guy. When you’re a fighter, you want to fight the top and you also look and say, ‘Hey, financially I can make the most money fighting the top.'”

So retirement for the educated Algieri, who has a master’s degree in clinical nutrition and has spoken of one day going to medical school, is the furthest thing from his mind, DeGuardia said.

“I know in the dressing room right now he told me he wants to fight,” DeGuardia said. “He’s ready and we’re going to be talking about fighting again. He’s a warrior. I don’t see this as being something where you say, ‘Ok, should he retire?’ Because the reality is you’re fighting at the top level. The reality is you’re as good as your last fight. And he’s just got to get back in and perform and do what he’s got to do.”

DeGuardia spoke proudly of what Algieri has accomplished in his career but their relationship has been strained by a financial dispute in recent weeks. Algieri has accused DeGuardia of not being transparent over what percentage of the total sum his purse represents. DeGuardia said that Algieri was trying to renegotiate his take that was already agreed-upon through negative stories in the media. The promoter said he has done nothing wrong and is in compliance with the rules and laws that govern boxing.

Algieri has yet to file a formal complaint with the New York State Athletic Commission against DeGuardia and it’s unclear if he will take any action on the matter. Rooney said on Sunday that Algieri was not available for an interview and that he will assess his entire career “after a much needed break.”

DeGuardia said he wasn’t stunned by the outcome on Saturday as most observers were. Algieri had never been stopped before and has shown an ability to whether punishment and carry on.

“Does it surprise me?” DeGuardia said. “Not really because I go in there knowing that anything can happen. I also knew the kind of skill-level that Errol Spence had. He’s a skilled, skilled fighter. But I was surprised that he was able to keep control of the momentum of the fight and really control it that quickly. Chris didn’t really seem to get his rhythm so I don’t think Chris fell into the right pattern.”

DeGuardia said Algieri had never faced a fighter like Spence, someone who is on the way up and entering his prime. Algieri had fought superstars like Manny Pacquiao and Amir Khan and he won a junior welterweight title against slugger Ruslan Provodnikov, but all of those fighters were a bit long in the tooth compared with Spence, DeGuardia said.

“It’s a different kind of fighter than let’s say (Amir) Khan, whose really been through the mill, is a veteran,” DeGuardia said. “Those speed-type reflexes aren’t going to be there. Different from Manny Pacquiao even who is coming up in weight and who doesn’t really have the same kind of speed and reflexes that he had years before. Ruslan Provodnikov — a different kind of style, a guy who plowed forward who doesn’t have that kind of speed. Errol Spence is a different fighter than Chris has ever fought. Lot of speed and a lot of agility. He’s a top, top fighter.”

DeGuardia recalled Algieri’s 2013 fight with Mike Arnaoutis, who like Spence is a southpaw. While Algieri won the fight handily, DeGuadia noted that Arnaoutis’s southpaw style did give Algieri pause in some instances. DeGuardia also acknowledged that Algieri appeared bigger than he has in the past on Saturday.

“He has bulked up,” DeGuardia said. “He looked very defined, strong. I looked at his back and it looked tremendous, like a real cobra. It’s great from a conditioning standpoint, from a look standpoint but sometimes that muscle weight can bear you down a little and slow you down a little bit. Him being so big, was it a factor? I don’t know if it was a factor. But it might have been.”

DeGuardia also suggested the fitness-addicted Algieri may have overdone it in training. “He looked almost — and I’m not saying that he was — like an over-trained fighter,” the promoter said. “Sometimes where you don’t have that freshness, that spark but that’s also a result of who he’s fighting.”