USA TODAY International Edition
Pacquiao bout true free- for- all
Fight in Australia his first since ’ 05 not pay- per- view
Welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao has long been a global phenomenon, with his worldwide popularity being one of the hallmarks of his Hall of Fame boxing career.
That will become abundantly clear Saturday when Pacquiao fights Down Under for the first time. The 38- year- old fighting senator from the Philippines will face fighting schoolteacher Jeff Horn, from Brisbane, Australia, in a welterweight title scrap at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane.
It will be the largest live audience to witness a fight in Australia, with more than 50,000 expected to pack the rugby stadium to watch eight- division champion Pacquiao ( 59- 6- 2, 38 KOs) take on mandatory challenger Horn ( 16- 0- 1, 11 KOs) with Pacquiao’s WBO welterweight belt as the prize.
The 12- round title bout will be aired live on ESPN in the USA ( 9 p. m. ET), the first under the new deal forged between ESPN and Top Rank, the company legendary promoter Bob Arum founded more than 50 years ago. It will be the first non- pay- perview fight for Pacquiao since September 2005.
“I am so happy fans in the U. S. will be able to watch it for free on ESPN,” Pacquiao said Tuesday from Brisbane. “It’s good for boxing.”
His Hall of Fame trainer, Freddie Roach, took the “better see him now” approach.
“Manny only has a few fights left, and for fans to be able to see him on ESPN instead of pay- perview is a real gift,” Roach said.
This will be one of the few fights in his 22- year career in which Pacquiao is not the crowd favorite. Tuesday, he recalled another one.
“This fight reminds me of when I fought Marco Antonio Barrera for the first time. It was in San Antonio ( on Nov. 15, 2003),” Pacquiao said. “When I began my ring walk, the entire building was booing me — yelling at me. I had five fans in the building that night, and four of them were my cornermen. I had never experienced that before. And then, when we left the ring ( Pacquiao won by TKO) and walked back to the dressing room, the building was silent.
“It’s a night I will never forget. But after that, I am prepared for anything. I know the fans will be rooting hard for Jeff Horn. They should. He represents them well. But I have a job to do, and I am ready to go to war with Jeff Horn.”
That Pacquiao is able to complete a full training camp these days to prepare for his fights nev- er ceases to amaze Roach.
“Manny has always been able to separate his boxing job from his Senate responsibilities. He has never missed a day of training due to his Senate job, and he has not missed a Senate session because of training. It’s a killer schedule,” Roach said. “I don’t know of anyone else who could do what he does. But that has been the trademark of Manny since we began working together.
“We train in Manila when the Senate is in session, and that does provide distractions from the job. More people are looking for his ear even in the gym. When I came to his Manila training camp four weeks ago, I was concerned about his weight. He was working very hard on his conditioning and had let his weight drop down to 140 pounds. We added a few more meals for him to eat to get his weight up. Once the Senate went into recess, we moved training camp to General Santos City, where we had more privacy and less distractions.”
Roach has seen firsthand how the issues that impact the Filipino people weigh heavily on Pacquiao.
“He is under enormous pressure, pressure he puts on himself, to help those in need. He takes his job as a public servant seriously,” Roach said. “But when he is in the gym working with me, he is 110% focused on training. He is still the hardest- working fighter I have ever seen. He is amazing.”
There has been much speculation about Pacquiao’s next opponent, provided he gets past Horn, which the world expects. Two highly skilled world champions, Vasyl Lomachenko and Terence Crawford, both Top Rank fighters, and even unified welterweight champ Keith Thurman have been tossed around as possible foes. Pacquiao is careful to stay in the present.
“My job is to fight the fight in front of me. It is not wise to look past any opponent,” Pacquiao said. “There are no tomorrows if I don’t win today.”