Jeff Horn vs Manny Pacquiao confirmed April 23rd - Aust frontrunner to host

[Like a Boss]

The jungle drums have been beating about a Jeff Horn vs Manny Pacquiao match-up for about a month now. But initially it sounded like Horn, according to Bob Arum anyway, would have to get past Timothy Bradley or Jessie Vargas first.

What seems to have bought things forward is Pacquiao's planned fight with Terrance Crawford seems to have fallen over - leaving Pacquiao without an opponent - enter Jeff Horn.

If that scenario isn't unlikely enough, Arum is now talking about the prospect of a Jeff Horn vs Manny Pacquiao fight being held in Australia.

[DA GOOSE]

It's being talked about on all the major boxing sites like boxing scene.

http://www.BS.com/horn-critics ... m=facebook

http://www.BS.com/arum-excited ... m=facebook

A lot of negative comments from people but a real possibility. Would it generate enough money to pay Pac what he wants though? I doubt it but hope Im wrong.

[Like a Boss]

[Like a Boss]

Ricky Burns' name is now also being mentioned as potentially Pacquiao's next opponent. But Burns is being linked to a unification fight with Julius Indongo and that appears now to be a done deal.

[Like a Boss]

Jeff Horn’s promoter Dean Lonergan is meeting with Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum in Los Angeles on Tuesday night.

Lonergan and Arum say they hope to wrap up their deal soon, suggesting the fight could get the green light this week if there is a guarantee of Pacquiao’s multi-million dollar purse. His pay demand for Horn is significantly less than the $20 million he wanted to fight Crawford.

Freddie Roach : “I have no problem with Horn. I don’t know much about him. But I’m getting some tapes on him.’’

Roach said he would be supervising Pacquiao's workouts for a month in the Philippines, before finishing the hard training for his nex fight at Roach’s Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles.

“Either way, we’re going on a road trip to fight overseas,’’ Roach said. “Travelling and hitting the road and seeing new places and Manny becoming an even bigger star around the world — I’m looking forward to it.’’

http://www.foxsports.com.au/boxing/mann ... 8f786671cd

[Like a Boss]

Top Rank's Bob Arum says he is very excited about the potential fight between WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao and Jeff Horn.

There is no confirmation if a major U.S. network will pick up this fight, but it's likely it will end up on a Top Rank Pay-Per-View. Top Rank produced Manny Pacquiao's November pay-per-view with Jessie Vargas after HBO passed on the fight.

Bob Arum has spoken to Manny Pacquiao and discussed the possibility of fighting Horn. He says Pacquiao was excited by the fight and called it a “good challenge.’’

“Manny has seen some of Jeff Horn’s previous fights, we’ve shown him tapes,’’ said Arum.

“Manny thinks Jeff is a very live fighter — in the sense he’s a come-ahead guy and he says it will be a tremendous fight and a good challenge for him. Manny is on board for this fight.’’

“We are very excited about this fight."

“Jeff is a very good fighter. I don’t know if he beats Manny Pacquiao but he’ll give him a tremendous fight.’’

Horn’s co-promoter Dean Lonergan of Duco will meet with Arum in Los Angeles on Tuesday. They hope to finalize a deal by the end of next week.
Arum told the paper that his “goal’’ is to “make this fight with Jeff Horn in Australia” and also said there was a “tremendous chance’’ the contest will take place in Brisbane.

“I’ve cleared it with Manny and I’ve cleared it with his people. He’s all set and ready to go if they can raise the money in Australia,’’ Arum said.

“Manny would love the opportunity to fight in Australia. A lot of people from the Philippines would come over to watch and a lot of Filipinos in Australia would be at the stadium".

“Manny has been based in the US for many years but wants to fight in different places in the world now and this could be one of the greatest sporting events ever staged in Australia. I can’t wait — it really is terrific. Australia has great, great fight fans and we can tell by the sales of Manny’s televised fights over the years that the Australian fans have backed Manny throughout his career.’’

[Like a Boss]

“Right now we are only looking at Australia and Jeff Horn" - Bob Arum

As Manny Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum sat down with Jeff Horn’s backer Dean Lonergan in Las Vegas last night to thrash out a deal, Arum declared that as far as Pacquiao’s next fight was concerned: “Right now, we are only looking at Australia.’’

He said as soon as a “conditional contract’’ was in place he would fly to Manila and get Pacquiao signature to finalise the deal.

Jeff Horn hopes to have the fight before his home crowd at Suncorp Stadium, but Lonergan said the fight would go to the city that made the “best commercial sense’’ with stadiums around Australia being considered.

Arum wants Pacquiao to go on a world tour in 2017 and said if he won against Horn he planned two more fights — in Russia and England.

[Like a Boss]

Pacquaio vs Horn set for confirmation

Manny Pacquiao is coming to Australia, with an announcement he will fight Jeff Horn imminent.

Arguably the biggest fight in Australian boxing history is expected to be locked in later on Wednesday.

It's understood Jeff Horn's proposed blockbuster bout against the legendary Manny Pacquiao will go ahead.

An announcement set for 1.30pm local time in Brisbane (2.30pm AEDT).

Horn's promoters, New Zealand company Duco Events, have been in the US holding discussions with Top Rank chief executive Bob Arum, Pacquiao's promoter and one of the most powerful figures in the sport.

It's believed they have signed a conditional agreement that allows planning for the fight to go ahead.

It's not clear where it will be held, and though Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium is the preferred venue, a bidding war is likely to begin with Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide also in contention.

Horn, 28, is undefeated after 17 professional fights and last month knocked out South African veteran Ali Funeka while Arum was ringside in Auckland.

Arum has been enamoured with the former schoolteacher and 2012 Olympian ever since and believes he has the ability and image to carve out a US fanbase.

Pacquiao, 38, captured the WBO welterweight title for the third time in his last fight against Jessie Vargas in November.

He has a 59-6-2 record but has not knocked out an opponent since Miguel Cotto in 2009.

http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2017 ... nfirmation

[DA GOOSE]

Wow this is huge.

[Like a Boss]

Pacquiao looks set to be the biggest name to fight in Australia since Joe Frazier over 40 years ago.

[Like a Boss]

Duco land Manny Pacquiao fight

Dean Lonergan and Duco Events have pulled off a major international coup by securing a world title fight for their Australian prospect Jeff Horn against the legendary boxer Manny Pacquiao.

The bout for the WBO welterweight title will be announced at a press conference in Brisbane this afternoon at Brisbane's riverside Regatta Hotel.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/ar ... d=11780490

[Like a Boss]

Australia as the venue may not be over the line yet

Australian welterweight Jeff Horn will fight the legendary Manny Pacquiao in April, but his promoters Duco Events are now on a mission to ensure the bout takes place on home soil.

Horn has been locked in to face Pacquiao on Sunday, April 23, Duco confirmed on Tuesday.

But venue for the fight is up in the air, with Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, the Middle East and the United States all under consideration.

http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2017 ... april-bout

[DA GOOSE]

The yank posters (especially Mayweather fan)s are ripping Pac for not fighting Crawford. I think it will be here,the middle east or somewhere else.
We have plenty of Filipinos as well as being near the Phillipines(close for high rolling Filipino gamblers/Pac fans). Hope we get it here.

[AntonS]

Given Pacman by way of Arum demanding outrageous purse to jump into the ring, I doubt Australia could afford it, nor can any nearby locations.
Anyway, for time being, good bit of publicity for Horn, which management Duco Events is good at.

[Lairdy]

I would love to go, just to see Pacquiao in the flesh! I'd be cheering for Horn of course. But it won't be a matter of "will" Horn lose, but "how". I hope he can put in a good performance while it lasts. Pacquiao via ko in under 6 rounds for me.

[Grant]

Good luck Jeff, don't really know who you have fought to get such a high ranking however.
My head says he is in a completly different league to you but my heart is hoping for the upset of the century

[Like a Boss]

Good luck Jeff, don't really know who you have fought to get such a high ranking however.
My head says he is in a completly different league to you but my heart is hoping for the upset of the century

We are on the same page there.

But Horn isn't alone as far as the rankings issue goes. It is staggering the number of guys who have recently attained top 10 rankings having fought few, if any, genuine contenders. Look no further than Mark de Mori as a prime example, and he was ranked top 10 by more than one organisation from memory - how??

[Like a Boss]

Espinoza is Open To Airing Pacquiao-Horn on Showtime

Showtime’s Stephen Espinoza expressed interest on Thursday in Showtime televising the Pacquiao-Horn fight.

“I think it would be great for the sport, in particular with those overseas pay-per-views that are a challenge to market in the U.S.,” Espinoza said Thursday before a press conference for another fight.

“So there’s some logic to what Bob Arum says. And if there’s an opportunity to be in that [Pacquiao] business, we would love to be in the running for it.”

“He’s still a name,” Espinoza said of Pacquiao. “There’s some challenges in the U.S. with the name recognition of Jeff Horn. That’s remedied by not going to pay-per-view. You look at the elements for a successful pay-per-view, it’s a competitive matchup and ideally, two known commodities that are available and able to market. And if you’re missing any of those elements, you probably shouldn’t be going to pay-per-view, if you’re looking for a big level of success.”

http://www.BS.com/pacquiao-hor ... me--112594

[madball1982]

Good luck Jeff, don't really know who you have fought to get such a high ranking however.
My head says he is in a completly different league to you but my heart is hoping for the upset of the century

I love Horn, but I agree with all this. He's fought some reasonable opposition for an emerging talent, but IMO as well, he's not fought the talent required to get a high ranking.
But then, this is boxing and it only takes the right promoter with the right bribes at the right time to move up into a suitable position (anyone remember an undeserving talent fighting a German and going to sleep for a world title?) for a title shot.
In saying that I will be watching this fight and crossing my fingers for Jeff. Either way, as long as he doesn't embarrass himself - which, this is a 38yo Pacman, not a 30yo one (think Green and RJJ - imagine that in RJJ's prime), so I think he'll lose but make a good show of it and maybe get a decent payday now and setup a decent one next up.
Ultimately, win or lose, this is potentially great for Horn's career (exposure mostly) and we can't blame him for chasing/accepting this fight.
As for Manny, he's paid his dues and as has been well-stated before me, it's a retirement tour anyway, let him pick an "easy" fight or two. But make no mistake, he has picked an "easy" fight.

In the end - my prediction is Horn TKO4.

[Lairdy]

For those of you that are having a little trouble understanding howJeff Horn is ranked so high, here is the WBO rating criteria from their website:

1.) POSITIVE PROFESSIONAL RECORD WITH SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON BOXERS RECENT ACTIVITIES

2.) NO BOXER CAN BE RATED IN MORE THAN ONE DIVISION.

3.) FOR A BOXER TO RECEIVE A TOP RATING, THE BOXER SHALL HAVE COMPETED IN AT LEAST (2) BOUTS SCHEDULED FOR TEN ROUNDS OR (4) BOUTS SCHEDULED FOR EIGHT ROUNDS.

4.) POSITIVE AMATEUR RECORD WITH SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON MEDALS OBTAINED IN INTERNATIONAL AND OLYMPIC TOURNAMENTS

5.) REGIONAL TITLE IN ANY ONE OF OUR ORGANIZATIONS, SUCH AS, NORTH AMERICAN BOXING ORGANIZATION (NABO), INTERCONTINENTAL BOXING ORGANIZATION (WBO‐INT), WBO LATINO, WBO ASIA PACIFIC

6.) QUALITY OF COMPETITION

7.) FREQUENCY OF COMPETITION

8.) POSITIVE TV EXPOSURE

9) GOOD RELATIONSHIP WITHIN THE COMMUNITY

10.) NO DRUG RELATED PROBLEMS

Pretty much, it all comes down to the committee. Which in turn generally comes down to which boxers are going to make them the most money through things such as sanctioning and promoting fee's. Most of the organizations are the same in this way unfortunately. The only difference being who they must fight for mandatory/non-mandatory defenses.

[littlepug]

what sort of attention is this getting in the oz mainstream media ?

[Lairdy]

what sort of attention is this getting in the oz mainstream media ?

Nil. Because it doesn't fit the Australian media's "supressed women" narrative.

[littlepug]

what sort of attention is this getting in the oz mainstream media ?

Nil. Because it doesn't fit the Australian media's "supressed women" narrative.

thats a real shame, the oz media should be really behind horn

[Like a Boss]

what sort of attention is this getting in the oz mainstream media ?

I can only speak from a Melbourne perspective. But since the announcement of the fight there has been quite a bit of coverage here, particularly in the daily newspaper. In Thursday morning's paper there was close to a full page article that included pictures of both fighters.

People I know, who don't even follow boxing, have been mentioning Horn's name, and that has caught me by surprise to be honest.

[littlepug]

what sort of attention is this getting in the oz mainstream media ?

I can only speak from a Melbourne perspective. But since the announcement of the fight there has been quite a bit of coverage here, particularly in the daily newspaper. In Thursday morning's paper there was close to a full page article that included pictures of both fighters.

People I know, who don't even follow boxing, have been mentioning Horn's name, and that has caught me by surprise to be honest.

Good to hear, hopefully will kickstart something over there