Pacquiao future uncertain BOXING
BRISBANE, Australia — It went all the way and ended in a contentiously bitter loss, the opposite of what Manny Pacquiao’s handlers predicted for his WBO welterweight world title fight against Jeff Horn.
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Pacquiao’s longtime trainer, Freddie Roach, tipped a “short and sweet” knockout win for the 11-time world champion in Sunday’s so-called “Battle of Brisbane,” but Horn got a unanimous points decision in his first world title fight — delighting the 51,052 fans. Roach had said last week that he’d think about advising Pacquiao to retire if he lost the fight, but they’re already considering a rematch.
All three judges awarded it to Horn, with Waleska Roldan scoring it 117-111 and both Chris Flores and Ramon Cerdan scoring it 115-113. Some critics slammed it as a hometown decision, saying the statistics had Pacquiao landing twice the number of power punches as Horn.
“That’s the decision of the judges. I respect that,” Pacquiao was quoted as saying by ESPN. “We have a rematch clause, so no problem.”
Horn started strongly and won at least three of the first five rounds on all three of the judge’s cards. Pacquiao, after twice needing treatment for a cut on the top of his head in the sixth and seventh rounds, appeared to dominate most of the rounds from the eighth.
He was close to finishing it in the ninth when he relentlessly pounded Horn and had him wobbling — to the point that referee Mark Nelson asked the 29-year-old former schoolteacher if he could continue — and also could have come out with the win.
Pacquiao didn’t attend the postfight news conference, sending a spokesman to say he was getting treated for the cuts. He also declined to do any interviews in the dressing room.
Co-promotor Bob Arum said it was a “close fight. It could have gone either way.”
“A couple of close rounds, but you can’t argue with the result,” he said. “I scored a lot of the early rounds for Jeff. Then I had Manny coming back in the middle. The 12th round, Jeff really won. If you give Manny the 11th, you have it a draw. You give Jeff the 11th, it’s 7-5.”
Arum said he’d give it time before talking to Pacquiao, the 38-year-old Philippine senator.
“I don’t know Manny’s future position. Is he going to stay in politics and not continue in boxing? I don’t know, and he doesn’t know,” Arum said. “It’s unfair to ask him now.”