Manny feint is no KO
ALTHOUGH Manny Pacquiao landed a devastating blow on Jeff Horn yesterday, Brisbane’s “Fighting Schoolteacher’’ remains hopeful he will still face the world welterweight champion at Suncorp Stadium in the next few months.
Pacquiao and his prospective next opponent, former British world champ Amir Khan, took to social media yesterday to say they had reached an agreement for a fight on April 23 in the United Arab Emirates, but Horn and his promotional team still believe the mooted fight is a desert storm in a teacup.
Horn had expected to fight Pacquiao on that date in Brisbane.
Pacquiao says he has been offered $ US38 million ($ A49 million) to face Khan, who was brutally knocked out in his last fight in Las Vegas.
In fact, Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach says his fighter regularly knocked Khan out when they sparred together years ago.
On Saturday, Horn released a video taunt to Pacquiao saying that while he had less than $ 38 million on offer, the money being offered to Pacquiao by the Queensland Government, Brisbane City Council and Suncorp Stadium to fight him in Brisbane was “real”.
No venue for a PacquiaoKhan fight has been revealed and last week Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum said reports he had reached an agreement with Khan were “total and complete bulls***”. On Wed- nesday Arum said he still had doubts about whether his boxer would see the $ 38 million being promised.
“Manny seems to believe they will come up with the money,’’ Arum said. “I have some reservations whether it will happen or not.’’
Horn’s promoter Dean Lonergan said yesterday he was still hopeful of staging a Pacquiao- Horn world title fight at Suncorp in June or July and remained sceptical that Pacquiao’s fight with Khan would materialise.
“I won’t believe that Jeff is not Pacquiao’s next fight until Bob Arum tells me the deal if officially off,’’ Lonergan said.
“We had already moved on from April 23 in Brisbane because with Manny talking to Amir Khan there was not enough time to get a promotion done in Brisbane.”
Yesterday Pacquiao tweeted: “Negotiations between team Pacquiao and team Khan have come to terms for the April 23 bout as this is what the fans wanted.”