New WBO welterweight champ Jeff Horn is the fighter all of boxing is talking about right now; or at least the hugely controversial decision victory the Australian warrior pulled off over Manny Pacquiao, THE upset of the year so far, is the hottest topic in the sport today.
The overwhelming opinion is that Horn did not deserve the 12 round unanimous decision that went his way by way of scores of 117-111 and 115-113 twice. ESPN.com’s Dan Rafael, for example, had it a wide 117-111 in favour of Pac Man, while Teddy Atlas had it 116-111 for Pacquiao.
But Horn doesn’t seem to care about any of that, nor do his team members, who claim the right man won in Brisbane. Horn, now 17-0-1 and smack bang in the mix for further massive fights in the talent-rich welterweight division, called out Floyd Mayweather Junior no less. Okay, his heart was pumping, as was his adrenaline, and maybe Horn got overexcited, but he did say that his calling out Mayweather was “no joke.”
Mayweather, despite being partially retired (interested only in his August bout with Conor McGregor, as he has stated many times) remains the fighter everyone wants to face. The money “Money” can generate is the biggest reason guys want to fight him of course, but the chance to become the only man to have beaten him is also a massive motivational factor. But will Floyd even entertain the idea of fighting Horn, even briefly? It seems very doubtful.
But Horn says it would be a dream come true to fight Mayweather in Las Vegas:
“This is just having a bit of a dig overseas to Floyd Mayweather, but this is no joke,” Horn said as he lifted a pair of boxing gloves and a walking cane. “Which one does he want, the walking stick or the gloves? Come have a real fight. It is definitely a dream to fight in Vegas, that’s for sure.”
Horn added how, with the big upset win over Pac Man, he has proven he belongs in the big, big fights at welterweight and that he is “looking at the other guys that are up there, as well.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjluPQfvaSQ
Horn can almost certainly forget all about that dream fight with Mayweather, but there are big fights out there for him that could happen. First of all, there could be a rematch with Pacquiao, and should he prove that lightning can strike twice by beating Pacquiao a second time, Horn could then look forward to a big unification fight against either Keith Thurman or Errol Spence.
Whatever he does next, Horn is in a good position right now; and he has at least one more massive fight to look forward to.