Pacquiao vs Horn: Battle in Brisbane

Pacquiao vs Horn: Battle in Brisbane
By: Ryan Foley

The well established global icon of boxing 8-weight class World Champion, Manny Pacquiao (59-6-2 38 KO’s), will travel to Brisbane Australia to fight virtually unknown Jeff Horn (16-0-1 11 KO’s) in a bout for Pacquiao’s WBO Welterweight Title. When this fight was originally signed it came under major scrutiny as many fighters were in line for a title-shot with a lucrative payday for a fight against Pacquiao. Jeff Horn is 100% undeserving of this fight. With such an unknown opponent such as Horn, US fight fans will be able to see Pacquiao for the first time on regular cable (ESPN) in nearly a decade. This is such a  mismatch that jokingly this fight has been compared to the original movie Rocky when champion Apollo Creed gave a no-name club fighter Rocky Balboa a shot in Philadelphia over the 4th of July weekend. If Pacquiao wants any discussion at a rematch with Mayweather he must demolish Horn with a vicious early knockout.  He must be the Manny of old that the fans want; throw hands with no conscience leading to one of the greatest knockout streaks in welterweight history. The last Manny we need to see is one of a tamed political temperament showing too much emotion towards his opponent. If so, this could be the final fight of Pacquiao’s legendary career.

Fighter Breakdown: Jeff “The Hornet” Horn brings limited experience to the ring, especially that of world championship caliber of Pacquiao. Horn does hold an element of surprise to his fighting ability. He was a dedicated amateur with a quality chin and good stamina. Horn is an orthodox style fighter.  Experience is going to be a huge factor for Horn as he is stepping into the ring with one of the greatest southpaw welterweights of all-time and Horn has not faced a quality southpaw at any point in his career. That lack of experience against southpaws might get him knocked out.
Manny Pacquiao is on the backside of his prime, but still has all the tangibles and skills to handle Horn with ease. Look for Pacquiao to work ferociously off the counter as Horn will more than likely be overly aggressive fighting in-front of his fellow countrymen. Sitting in the southpaw stance will make it easy for Manny to counter off heavy over-the-top right hands that Horn will throw early prior to establishing a distance using proper feints if he doesn’t want to be KO’d.

Fight Prediction: This will be no movie; Manny Pacquiao will put on a boxing clinic against Jeff Horn. The only question is if his KO power of the past will reappear against an inferior opponent.