Former world champion and Australian boxing legend, Jeff Fenech, fully agrees with Saturday's outcome, which saw Manny Pacquiao lose his WBO welterweight world title to Jeff Horn in a stunning, unanimous points decision in front of more than 51,000 people at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane.
The 11-time world champion entered the ring as a massive favorite but got more than he bargained for against the 29-year-old former schoolteacher.
All three of the official judges scored the fight for Horn with tallies of 117-111, 115-113 and 115-113.
Pacquiao had Horn in serious trouble during the ninth round and the fight appeared to be on the verge of being stopped. Even the referee had given Horn "one more" round to "show something." Horn recovered by the tenth round and Pacquiao was punched out from trying to finish Horn in the ninth. The set of circumstance allowed Horn back in the fight. "All these people are saying he didn't win the fight — they love Manny," Fenech said to ABC News. "Maybe they had money on Manny. I sat ringside. Manny won the ninth round big, but he didn't knock him down, so that's a 10-9 round. The early rounds I thought were dominated by Jeff. He made Manny panic." "I knew Jeff could win the fight but I wasn't too sure if he was going to execute it properly. But wow, he executed it. He was the aggressor and he put the pressure on. He had to take Manny somewhere he hadn't been before, make him uncomfortable, push him around and hold his head down. He did all those things. He clearly won the fight." Although there is a rematch clause, which Pacquiao plans to execute, Fenech believes the Filipino superstar is feeling his age at 38 and should hang up the gloves before he gets seriously hurt. "Manny should hang the gloves up. An all-time great, nobody will ever do what he's done," Fenech said. "But if he fights Jeff Horn again, I think Jeff Horn will win again."
2023-10-18 21:17:58
