Horn’s what Arum ordered for Pacquiao

Aof course.

Anyone that Pacquiao plans to fight, Arum must approve first.

This early, Recah Trinidad, the veteran Inquirer sports columnist, has predicted that Horn may yet become Pacquiao’s first knockout victim in 8-1/2 years. I can only agree. After Pacquiao stopped Miguel Cotto in the 12th round of their bloody clash in 2009, the Filipino boxing icon has since failed to score a knockout against anyone of his 12 or so succeeding foes.

Said Recah to me yesterday: “International referee Bruce McTavish told me Horn is worst than Algierie.” So there. Pacquiao badly needs to reinvent himself in order to become saleable again.

Horn’s the make-up artist that Arum has tapped for the job? pieces. Ripped apart.

The New Yorker got himself knocked down six times, ending up as the boxer to have kissed the canvas the most number of times in recent memory.

Good thing Pacquiao had lost much of the sock in his fists or else, Algierie, reduced into a virtual punching bag, could have ended up with a face rearranged beyond recognition.

His unbeaten streak marred by that forgettable loss, Algierie would next leave boxing for good.

His legacy? He survived a knockout loss against Pacquiao. As if that was a badge of honor?

And now comes Jeff Horn, the Australian upstart tapped to tangle with Pacquiao on April 23.

Like Algierie (21-0), Horn is also unbeaten (16-0-1, 11 knockouts).

But as I had said here, who were Horn’s victims?

Nobody knows except Bob Arum, the fight promoter—but, lways, history seems to repeat itself.

In 2014, Chris Algierie came from out of nowhere and suddenly popped into the world boxing center stage. He was not even a boxer. Oh, yes, boxing was in his system: He was a kickboxer.

And what is a kickboxer again?

He fights not with his hands, but with both feet and hands.

So, how could he have qualified to fight Manny Pacquiao, an eight-time world boxing champion?

Algierie was not even a world kickboxing titlist when he was dispatched to face Pacquiao, one of the most dangerous fighters of his time.

So, to cut the long story short, as we love to say, Algierie found himself straying into nowhere land.

Naturally, like anyone tossed into a lion’s den, he got blown to