Superstar and reigning WBO welterweight king Manny Pacquiao is right back where he was back in January of this year: on the verge of fighting unbeaten Australian puncher Jeff Horn.
As fans may recall, Pac-Man was set to give Australian fight fans the biggest boxing event in their country’s history in April, only for the Brisbane fight to appear to fall apart for good; with Pacquiao announcing on social media how he and Britain’s Amir Khan had reached an agreement for a lucrative fight in the UAE. The money never appeared for that one to go ahead, and now Pacquiao is again looking at heading to Australia, likely on July 2.
According to a piece in The Los Angeles Times, the exact date and venue have still to be confirmed, with promoter Bob Arum stating how the various paperwork is on the verge of being completed.
“We’re slowly finishing up the deal to fight,” Arum told the paper. “People have agreed on essential points. Paperwork takes time, particularly when it’s not the usual thing of getting it done in the United States. We’re dealing with an Australian promoter, the state government. Here, in this case, you’ve got to cross the Ts and doe the Is, and that’s what we’re in the process of doing.”
And fight fans are back to wondering just what kind of fight they can expect between Pacquiao, 59-6-2(38) and Horn, 16-0-1(11). Horn can certainly hit hard, but he has also been put down a couple of times himself – is the 29 year old in Manny’s class? In truth, this one is a huge fight and an exciting big deal in Australia only. It will be one huge event in Brisbane (or the eventual Australian venue) and it could prove to be an exciting, even thrilling fight.
But who, aside from the Australian fight fans, is really predicting anything other than another Pac-Man win? Might Pacquiao even see his KO drought end in this fight? According to Arum, Pacquiao will also fight in November of this year. Enjoy him while you can, because the all-time great and future Hall of Famer could be having his final year in the ring here in 2017.