Horn stuns Pacquiao for WBO crown
FORMER schoolteacher Jeff Horn stunned world champion Manny Pacquiao to win the World Boxing Organisation (WBO) welterweight crown with a controversial unanimous points decision in Brisbane, Australia, yesterday.
Given no chance by most observers, the 29-year-old Horn’s ultra-aggressive style rocked Pacquiao, with the three judges scoring the fight 117-111, 115-113 and 115-113 to the Australian after 12 rounds.
Pacquiao’s camp and observers, including Lennox Lewis, slammed the decision.
“There is no problem with a rematch,” Pacquiao said. “It would be better in the Philippines.”
Pacquiao, 38, is considered one of the best fighters of his generation. His camp had predicted an easy win over Horn, a 2012 Australian Olympian.
But Horn showed no signs of being overawed by the occasion, relentlessly taking the fight to the Filipino great and not allowing him to find any rhythm.
Pacquiao did manage to land some left jabs in the opening rounds to take the early points, but Horn refused to back away and his brawling tactics paid off.
“He was quick when he put combinations together, but controlling the gap made it easier to see them coming,” Horn said.
Pacquiao, bleeding from cuts above both eyes caused by accidental head clashes, launched a savage counterattack in the ninth round and appeared to have Horn in trouble.
“The ref said ‘show me something or I’ll stop the fight’,” Horn said. “And I thought, ‘hold your horses, I’m not that bad’.”
Horn recovered and came out strongly in the 10th. “My heart that kept me going,” he said.
The result caused dismay on social media, with Pacquiao conditioning coach Justin Fortune tweeting: “The referee was sketchy, the judges were crazy.”
“Horn looks like a pumpkin,” he said, referring to the badly swollen face of Horn.
Lewis, the former undisputed world heavyweight champion, tweeted: “This is what’s wrong with boxing. Horn was very game but I’m hard pressed to see how he could have won.”