The Upset

By: Chris Durham

The Battle of Brisbane it was billed. Manny Pacquiao vs Jeff Horn for the WBO Welterweight Champion. I looked forward to this fight. It’s not everyday you see a fighter like Pacquiao fight on regular cable TV. I wasn’t familiar with Horn and didn’t know what to expect from him. Honestly I thought Manny would dominate this fight.

It went all 12 rounds. Horn put up a much better fight then I ever expected him to. He was the aggressor early on in the fight. Both men drew blood. During Round 9 is when Manny took over and had his best round. Referee Mark Nelson was ready to call the fight. He told Horn to show more competitiveness or he would stop the fight. He did and won via a unanimous yet in many eyes a controversial decision.

Seems like a lot of people scored it differently. The official judges scored it 117–111, 115–113 and 115–113 all in favor of Horn. ESPN’s Dan Rafael had it 117–111 Pacquiao. Teddy Atlas scored it 116–111 Pacquiao. CBS Sports scored it even 114–114. Now did I think Manny should of won? Yes but am I totally shocked Horn won? No. Horn was more dominant to me early on in the fight. It took Manny a little while to adjust and get back into the fight.

Was this decision due to Horn being in his home country? Was it to get us talking? Maybe set up the rematch? Manny did say he’d be open to one. Who knows. All I can say is it was a good fight and it wasn’t as controversial as everyone made it out to be.