Manny Pacquiao Definitely Won That Fight… But It Wasn’t Exactly A Walkover
Hahaha, seriously!? They thought Jeff Horn won that? Doesn’t matter how many “Hornet, Hornet, Hornet!” chants the Brisbane crowd threw out there, none of them counted as punches. This fight was shown on ESPN in America and there were people were watching. Not some hidden back alley bout, we’re talking about a world title fight – and as soon as the decision was announced the internet was absolutely flooded with millions of armchair judges out there (correctly) ridiculing what they’d just witnessed.
Except… you know what? Early rounds and you can kinda see how they scored it that way. Manny Pacquiao is a flippin’ legend but he started slow at Suncorp. He didn’t look slow, on the contrary his power and hand-speed was definitely putting The Hornet to shame. But he wasn’t throwing much, instead looking to stay at a safer distance against the rangier Aussie and with the unconventional way that Jeff Horn fights that meant he sort of invited him in on the attack.
Still, Manny was defensively sound. Even if he appeared to throw a fraction of the overall punches in the initial rounds, he did connect on three or four that were much more punishing than anything that came back the other way. Horn landed a lot of punches but hardly anything clean. To be fair, there’s nothing really clean about the dude – he’s such an awkward boxer it sometimes looks like he’s punching with his elbows. That technique probably caught Manny off-guard when you combine it with the rabid action he tried to bring to things.
Honestly, you could easily have scored that fight at four rounds to two in Horn’s favour at the half-way point. And it was in that sixth where Horn finally did some real damage, thumping Manny in the chest with a straight right. Also in that round was the accidental clash of heads that cut Manny near his right temple. He got him again in an accidental head clash in the seventh, more blood spilling. For about the fiftieth time the ref warned them to “Watch the heads, okay?”
From Jeff Horn’s point of view, this was ideal. Not only did he get the 38 year old champ on a slow day but he was frustrating and disrupting him too. This dude is the stereotypical Aussie Battler – a few years ago he was teaching Phys Ed and now he’s a world champion boxer. He’s always looked a handful when he’s fought in the past. It wouldn’t be a lie either to say it’s been a joy to watch him whenever he’s appeared on a Joseph Parker/Duco undercard – which has happened seven times. Second time amongst those he came on after Monty Betham had TKO’d Carlos Spencer, to refresh the memory there.
There are a couple more horses in the stable now but back in those early Parker pro days it was Jeff Horn and Izu Ugonoh who brought a shred of legitimacy to things. Now Izu has skipped off to new representation (Al Haymon, actually – he fought and lost to Dominic Breazeale on Deontay Wilder’s last undercard. Shoulda won after dropping Breaz in the fourth but he punched himself out and got decked instead) while Jeff Horn is the WBO World welterweight champion. Oh and Joe Parker’s the WBO world heavyweight champ. Bloody hell, right?
Anyway, shout out to Jeff Horn for the first six rounds but Manny pummelled him in the seventh, finally bringing the intensity to this bout that he’d been storing up too long. When pressed afterwards, he reluctantly admitted that he’d caught a cold in Australia which might have sapped his energy. Thing is, that shouldn’t have been a problem. He still did enough to deserve the win but he didn’t take control early enough to put it beyond doubt. Although, yeah, when he turned it on he really for damn sure turned it on.
Doesn’t it sorta look like Manny uppercuts Horny in the face so bad here that he punches himself in return? Maybe it’s just the angle…
You might argue that Horn took a close eighth but even if you do then you probably can’t say he claimed another round. In the ninth he finally tired and Manny was able to get him backtracking. 38 years old though he is, Manny Pacquiao on the charge remains a fearsome thing. He landed at least eight thumping power shots on him and Horn spent the last thirty seconds stumbling around like Barney Gumble on St Patties Day. The referee actually went over to his corner, interrupting a very Aussie pep talk by the way, to warn him that he was close to ending this thing.
“Jeff, listen. I’m here to protect you okay? I think you’ve had enough. You wanna continue? Show me something in this round or I’m gonna stop the fight.”
Those are his exact words, his corner crew were begging just to let the fight continue… and this man WON THE FIGHT. He must’ve shown enough in a tight tenth because the bout ended up going the distance. Referinho goes over to check on him after #10 and his trainer more or less tells him to bugger off: “He’s fine! He won the bloody round!” Eh, maybe… probably not. More telling were the words that followed when he told The Hornet the fight was even, that he’d need to win the last two to be sure.
I had it even there too. Five rounds apiece. But Manny won the last two and he should’ve won the fight, that’s just the way I saw it. The Pacman’s problem was that he didn’t kill it off when he had the chance. He never dominated again like he did in the ninth and left those championship rounds with enough doubt that the home crowd probably had more of a say than they should have. This is boxing, it doesn’t matter how well you win a round; unless you get that knockdown it’s still 10-9 on the scorecard. Ultimately, unfair though it may have been, that’s why Manny Pacquiao lost his belt.
It’s highly doubtful he’ll make the same mistakes in the rematch.
In all honesty it was much closer than people are suggesting. It’s not impossible to comprehend how two judges gave Horn a two-round advantage… but it’s pretty bloody outrageous to say he took that thing by six. 117-111 you’ve gotta be joking. Nine rounds to three!? The stats don’t exactly back that up either.
But Manny was all good with it. He’s lost fights before, at this stage of his career he doesn’t care too much as long as he can make it right the next time. Plus because of the nature of an all-time legend going up against a complete underdog, he made something like twenty times the cash that Horn made on the purse. Would still say the decision he copped against Timothy Bradley in 2012 was worse and Manny’s legacy is untouchable no matter what else happens.
Look, the decision was wonky and they’ll fight again now. Credit to Jeff Horn for a gutsy performance and credit to Manny Pacquiao for graciously taking it in his stride. But 50,000+ people packed out Suncorp for that spectacle and do you reckon they went home angry? Nah mate, there’s not another sport on the planet that can keep you guessing like boxing can. You could say it was like a movie but I’ve seen Rocky and I’m pretty sure he loses in the end… typically unrealistic Hollywood.
Throw a few hard jabs at an ad and give TNC the kind of support usually only reserved for home town fighters by boxing judges.