WBO will rescore Pacquiao-Horn bout, but result will not change

Manny Pacquiao’s loss against Jeff Horn on July 1 was controversial. Horn won the fight unanimously, but many who saw the fight thought Pacquiao was the clear winner.

On Monday, the Philippines Games and Amusements Board asked the WBO for a review to check for possible mistakes by the referee and “of the judges in their judging that have caused varying opinions on their objectivity.”

The WBO responded Thursday, saying in a letter that it will “appoint five anonymous competent Judges from different countries to watch the bout without sound distraction” - but that the decision itself can’t be changed.

“Then, we will tabulate the results to ascertain clearly which rounds each fighter won using an average scale based on 60, 80 and 100 percent,” WBO president Francisco Valcárce wrote in a public letter. “This means that 3 of the 5 officials have to agree to determine which fighter won the round.”

The three judges scoring the fight in Brisbane, Australia, had Horn, the Australian underdog, winning, one with a lopsided score of 117-111.

Pacquiao released a statement through his senate office saying, “On my part, I had already accepted the decisions but as a leader and, at the same time, fighter I have the moral obligation to uphold sportsmanship, truth and fairness in the eyes of the public. I love boxing and I don’t wanna see it dying because of unfair decisions and officiating.”