Jeff Horn’s vision comes to fruition with win over Pacquiao

BRISBANE, Australia—Jeff Horn’s vision has come true. When the final bell rang, his arms were raised and the world welterweight title was on his waist.

While Manny Pacquiao saw no sign, nor dreamed of emerging the loser in their “Battle of Brisbane,” Horn bared during Wednesday’s press conference that he pictured himself at the top of the ring, victorious.

Very few believed the former school teacher then as he was the huge underdog in his WBO tussle against the legendary Pacquiao.

But Horn believed in himself, confident with his abilities and the preparations he and his trainers have taken in the course of a 10-month training camp.

“It feels amazing, Horn said during the post fight conference at a function room of Suncorp Stadium. “I felt just lucky throwing a lot of punches to uspet his rhythm.”

Well, that was part of the 10-point plan charted by Glenn Rushton, Horn’s millionaire trainer.

According to Horn, who showed up with his handsome face marked with welts, cuts and bruises, performing before over 50,000 people, propped him up.

And hearing them chanting his moniker, Hornet, gave him the strength to survive a near knockout in the ninth round and finish the bout still firing away.

“That’s just my heart,” said Horn. “It keeps me going a couple of more rounds. I still feel good and came back in the 10th, 11th and 12th rounds. “

Those homestretch rounds indeed turned out to be pivotal as the referees awarded it to him for the marginal points in a unanimous decision over Pacquiao, 117-111 once, and 115-113 twice.

Acknowledging that Pacquiao was indeed a great champion, Horn said he’s willing to give Pacquiao a rematch.

While he prefered his first title defense to be held in Brisbane, Horn said he’s open to the idea of

going over to the Philippines to give Pacquiao a chance to regain the the 147-pound crown.

Another goal for Horn is to unify the welterweight titles and said he doesn’t mind facing World Boxing titlist Keith Thurman or International Boxing Federation king Errol Spence, both Americans.

Horn, who reportedly earned $500,000 for his title crack against Pacquiao, who stands to get around $8 to 10 million, said he was also motivated by the desire to give his wife and his unborn child a better life.

Now that he’s a champion, Horn has widened his horizon.

Only 29, he can dream on without restrictions.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Horn stuns Pacquiao for unanimous decision win

Manny Pacquiao lost his WBO welterweight world title to Jeff Horn in a stunning, unanimous points decision in a Sunday afternoon bout billed as the Battle of Brisbane in front of more than 51,000 people.

The 11-time world champion entered the fight at Suncorp Stadium as a hot favorite but got more than he bargained for against the 29-year-old former schoolteacher.

Still, Pacquiao dominated the later rounds and had Horn wobbling at the end of the 9th.

“I felt buzzed for sure, but I’m the Hornet — I’ve got to come back,” Horn said of that round. “I’m not a quitter. Australians aren’t quitters to start with. We’ve showed we’re winners.

“It was the battle of Brisbane, that’s for sure. Absolutely unbelievable. So pumped.”

Pacquiao’s long-time trainer Freddie Roach predicted the fight would be short and sweet but Horn — unbeaten in his 17 previous professional fights — applied pressure by winning some of the early rounds and Pacquiao needed treatment during the 6th and 7th rounds for a cut on the top of his head that resulted from a clash of heads.

The judges scored the fight 117-111, 115-113 and 115-113, and Horn declared himself “no joke.”

Roach had said earlier in the week that he’d think about advising Pacquiao to retire if he lost the fight, but that would depend on how he fought.

Horn can’t see Pacquiao retiring any time soon.

“I’m sure he’ll want to come back. It was a close decision and I’m sure he’ll want to come back and prove himself,” Horn said.

Top Rank promotor Bob Arum said there was a clause for a rematch, but he’d give it time before talking to Pacquiao about it.

“I know Jeff would welcome the rematch, but I don’t know Manny’s future position,” Arum said. “Is he going to stay in politics and not continue in boxing? I don’t know, and he doesn’t know now — it’s unfair to ask him now.”

Pacquiao’s camp had talked about a rematch with Mayweather if he got past Horn, hoping to avenge his loss on points in the 2015 mega fight. That seems to be a distant chance now.

Pacquiao, who entered the fight with a record of 59-6-2, 38 knockouts, was defending the WBO title he won on points against Jessie Vargas last November.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Pacquiao victorious in fight vs Vargas with Mayweather watching

LAS VEGAS—Manny Pacquiao put on a masterful performance to take the WBO World welterweight title from champion Jessie Vargas Sunday (Manila time).

Floyd Mayweather Jr. stopped by to see an old foe, and Pacquiao tried his best to give him a show.

With Mayweather watching intently from a ringside seat, Pacquiao dropped Jessie Vargas in the second round and bloodied his face Saturday night on his way to a lopsided decision that gave him a piece of the welterweight title once again.

Pacquiao won on all three ringside scorecards — 118-109, 118-109 114-113 — to take the piece of the title Vargas won in his last fight. The AP scored it 119-109.

It was vintage Pacquiao at times, even though he couldn’t stop Vargas like he desperately wanted to. And with Mayweather at ringside it certainly will stir talk of a second fight between the boxers who went at it last year in the richest fight ever.

That, of course, would depend on Mayweather coming out of retirement and Pacquiao being able to fight while still attending to his duties as a senator in the Philippines. Mayweather did not answer questions about a possible return to the ring shouted at him by writers at ringside.

“I came to take my daughter to the fights,” Mayweather said, with his daughter sitting next to him.

Just before the bell rang to start the fight, Pacquiao smiled and waved a fist at Mayweather. He then came out aggressive, trying to walk down Vargas and make it a short night.

But Pacquiao, who has not knocked out an opponent in seven years, wasn’t going to stop the younger Vargas in his hometown. Vargas had difficulty dealing with Pacquiao’s speed, but was more than willing to trade punches to try and lure him into a brawl.

In the eighth round he succeeded at doing that, hitting Pacquiao with a big right and punching his gloves together as if to tell him to stand and fight. Pacquiao went right back after him and they traded punches before staring at each other when the bell sounded to end the round.

Vargas was cut over the right eye by an accidental clash of heads in the eighth, and blood trickled into his eye but it didn’t seem to be a factor.

The taller Vargas landed some good right hands of his own, but they were infrequent and he rarely followed up on them. Still, they were enough to keep Pacquiao away at times and offset some of his advantage with speed.

Vargas fell again in the last round but it was ruled as a slip with 10 seconds left in the fight.

Mayweather took a ringside seat alongside his daughter to watch the man who helped make him untold millions when they fought in 2015. Mayweather won that fight, and Pacquiao’s performance was largely panned, though he claimed to have an injured shoulder.

Pacquiao acknowledged Mayweather after his in-ring interview with a smile as Money made his way out of the arena.

Pacquiao, fighting in his 22nd title fight in a pro career that stretches back to 1995, trained at night in the Philippines in the weeks leading up to the fight so he could tend to his day job as a newly elected senator. With the senate out of session, he was back in a more familiar place, with a crowd of some 16,132 nearly filling the UNLV campus arena to watch him take on Vargas, who was in only his second title bout.

Pacquiao, who earned a reported $100 million to fight Mayweather in the richest fight ever, was guaranteed $4 million plus a percentage of the revenue of the fight. Vargas got $2.8 million. With reports from Bong Lozada/INQUIRER.net

source: sports.inquirer.net

Pacquiao arrives in LA for press tour of 3rd match with Bradley

Sarangani Rep. and Filipino boxing icon Manny  Pacquiao has arrived in Los Angeles for the press tour of his upcoming rematch with Timothy Bradley in April.

Pacquiao was accompanied by his wife Jinkee to the Crystal Ballroom of The Beverly Hills Hotel, where the press tour will begin, a report by GMA News stringer Jayson Otamias said.

He will begin promoting what he stressed is his last professional fight.

In an earlier interview, Pacquiao said that he is ready to end his 21-year boxing career in order to focus on his political duties. He is running for senator in the May elections.

The press tour will be continued in New York City. Team Pacquiao and Team Bradley will be flying out to the city on Wednesday for the second press conference that will be held in The Theater at Madison Square Garden on Jan. 21.

Pacquiao left the Philippines for the tour on Monday.

Pacquiao will be facing Bradley to win the WBO Welterweight crown for the third time.

The match will be held at MGM Grand in Las Vegas on April 9. —Jessica Bartolome/KBK, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com

Pacquiao dominates Algieri to retain world title

Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao fashioned out a masterful unanimous decision, knocking down Chris Algieri six times on Sunday to retain the World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight title in Macau.

"Tonight, I did my best," Pacquiao said after the fight. "I'm satisfied with my performance tonight."

The win improved Pacquiao's record to 57 wins against five losses and two draws. Algieri suffered his first defeat in 20 fights.

Pacquiao dealt the American fighter the first defeat of his career, and the eight-division champion did it in style, snuffing out Algieri's hopes right from the start.


Talking about his improved power, Pacquiao said it was a priority during training camp with trainer Freddie Roach.

"We improved our strenghth, we did more heavy bag training," said Pacquiao, who admitted he was looking to stop Algieri.

"I'm looking for a knockout, but he's fast, he's moving."

Despite giving up four inches in height, Pacquiao stalked Algieri early on, putting the American on the backpedal.

The first knockdown, in the second round, was a combination of a Pacquiao punch and Algieri slipping on the canvas but in the sixth round Algieri tumbled head over heels after a Pacquiao barrage and went down again in the same round from a right hook.

A fierce left cross in the ninth sent Algieri to his back. He beat the count, but dropped to his knees from a follow-up flurry and seemed on the verge of being stopped as Pacquiao unleashed a fusillade of punches against the ropes.

Somehow the American survived that round and despite being knocked down by another left hand in the tenth, made it to the final bell.

After the fight, Pacquiao dedicated the win to his countrymen, especially those who filled the Cotai Arena with cheers.

"Lots of Filipinos came here tonight to watch the fight," said Pacquiao. "Thank you so much for the support of all the fans around."

Overmatched Algieri

Algieri had earned the shot against Pacquiao by overcoming a swollen right eye and two knockdowns against Russia's Ruslan Provodnikov in his previous outing but he was never remotely in this contest.

Although he circled constantly to his left and attempted to keep Pacquiao at a distance with his superior reach, he rarely landed any consequential punches.

Algieri holds a master's degree and an ambition to become a doctor once his boxing days are over. All week in the build-up, his trainer Tim Lane had been declaring that he would destroy Pacquiao by "master boxing".

They proved hollow words and Pacquiao's Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach mocked them afterwards.

"The master boxer was given a master class by Professor Pacquiao," said Roach.

Filipino pride

Pacquiao's victory will inevitably heighten calls for him to face the unbeaten Floyd Mayweather in what could be the first billion-dollar fight in history

"I really want the fight. The fans deserve it," said Pacquiao afterwards, throwing down a challenge by imitating a new TV commercial in which he mocks Mayweather.

It brought huge cheers from the sellout 13,202 crowd at the Venetian Macau venue, where the vast majority appeared to be Filipinos.

Many hundreds more of Pacquiao's compatriots were waiting patiently outside for just a glimpse of their national hero, having arrived at the venue in the early hours of Sunday to find all the tickets gone.

Back in the Philippines, the nation stopped to watch en masse.

"The Filipinos were united in celebrating the victory of our national fist, Congressman Manny Pacquiao in his fight against Chris Algieri in Macau," said President Benigno Aquino's spokesman Herminio Coloma in Manila.

"His strength, speed and skill were on display on the canvas. Every punch that scored caused the millions of Filipinos to cheer together in every corner of the world.".  — JST, GMA News with reports from Reuters and Agence France-Presse

source: gmanetwork.com