PEOPLE'S CHAMP
Horn stuns world in Suncorp thriller
HUMBLE hero Jeff Horn has scored one of the greatest wins ever in this country’s sporting history by taking Manny Pacquiao’s world welterweight title at Suncorp Stadium with a 12- round decision.
Horn toughed out victory against one of boxing’s all- time greats, surviving a badly cut eye, a savagely swollen face and a Pacquiao surge to score a unanimous points decision.
JEFF Horn did it. He shocked the world and made every kid who has ever been bullied stand tall and proud to salute him. The humble hero from suburban Brisbane scored one of the greatest wins ever in this country’s sporting history by taking Manny Pacquiao’s world welterweight title at Suncorp Stadium yesterday with a 12- round decision. And yet, amid the euphoria, after putting an exclamation mark on an astonishing fairytale victory, he announced that winning the World Boxing Organisation welterweight title from one of the greatest fighters of all time was not really the highlight of his life. That was still to come, he told the crowd of 50,000, because his childhood sweetheart — wife Jo — is pregnant. The Fighting Schoolteacher dug deep down into the recesses of his heart yesterday to tough out victory against one of boxing’s all- time greats, surviving a badly- cut eye, a savagely- swollen face and a Pacquiao surge in the ninth round that had American referee Mark Nelson threatening to stop the bout. But Horn held tough, he looked deep within to find another gear. Prompted by coach Glenn Rushton to “remember the dream” he got back on top to win a bloodbath of non- stop pulsating action. And while Pacquiao has a rematch clause in his contract for a return fight at Suncorp in November, Horn immediately sent out a challenge to Floyd Mayweather, the cocky American who earned $ 200 million by beating Pacquiao on points in 2015. The huge crowd of about 50,000 yesterday ensured Horn would take home more than $ 1 million from Austra-
lia’s biggest fight, with Pacquiao earning about 10 times that figure.
He jokes that working as a schoolteacher and as a qualified childcare worker before that has made him tough enough to cope with anything, even Manny Pacquiao in a toe- to- toe brawl for the ages.
As he and Rushton had planned, Horn used his sharp footwork to send Pacquiao’s timing haywire in the early rounds.
The Filipino world champ constantly missed with his otherwise dangerous left hand as Horn stayed out of range before striking with his own cracking combinations.
The electric atmosphere at Suncorp was simply breathtaking and Horn and Pacquiao delivered a fight that more than lived up to the hype.
No one who was inside the Cauldron yesterday will ever forget seeing the humble boxer from Acacia Ridge beating the boxing icon, who is now a high- ranking Filipino senator
As Horn spoke in the ring immediately after the fight, blood dripped from a cut above his right eye and the bruising on his face was turning purple.
“It’s all worth it,” Horn said.
“All the pain and sacrifice. I wanted to make my family and my friends proud. Manny was trying so hard in there and I really appreciate him giving me the chance to fight for this world title.
“He hit me hard a few times in that ninth round and our heads banged together causing the cuts.
“Those head clashes buzzed me a few times, but there was nothing Manny could do that would stop me from my dream.
“I started learning self- defence from Glenn Rushton 11 years ago because I was getting beaten up at school.
“Glenn made me believe in myself.
“I didn’t even know how to throw a punch then but he gave me confidence, he made me believe I could achieve anything.
“You saw today the power that comes from believing in yourself, from having good people around you and working towards a dream.”
I WANTED TO MAKE MY FAMILY AND MY FRIENDS PROUD. JEFF HORN