Boxing fans, be ready!
Take a pen and write down: 2 July 2017, 9:00 pm ET.
This is the date for all the boxing fans out there ready to see one of the greatest back in the ring. I’m talking about the “Battle of Brisbane”, a scheduled boxing match in the WBO welterweight division between the Filipino legend Manny Pacquiao and the hometown hero Jeff Horn. The fight will take place this Sunday at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
First let me say this, on the paper Pacquiao is the winner, nobody really except Horn to pull the rabbit of the hat or to be even competitive. But, data on one side and sympathies on the other let’s analyze each fighter days before their upcoming bout.
MANNY PACQUIAO
Manny Pacquiao:
Age: 38
Stance: Southpaw
Height | Reach: 166cm | 170cm
Record: 59-6-2 (38 KO)
Streak: W2
Last 5: 4-1
Last 10: 7-3
He doesn’t need any introduction, his name speaks for himself.
A legendary fighter, fought anybody in any division, champion in multiple divisions and weight classes, considered by many one of the greatest.
The clock is ticking for everybody, Pacquiao included. He is now 38 years old, he is a senator for his country, and doesn’t stay in the gym as much as he did in his prime years.
But despite his age and political commitments he fought twice in 2016 just like most top names in the world of boxing. He defeated both Timothy Bradley Jr and Jessie Vargas by unanimous decisions, dropping them on the floor several times to claim a clear and convincing victory.
He is a veteran in the ring and still explosive and sharp. Even in his last two fights he defeated fighters that on paper were better than Horn. And Pacquiao was demonstrably better than both of them.
Fighter stats: here
JEFF HORN
Jeff Horn:
Age: 29
Stance: Orthodox
Height | Reach: 175cm | 173cm
Record: 16-0-1 (11 KO)
Streak: W13
Last 5: 5-0
Last 10: 10-0
He is younger, bigger, hungrier and he fights in his hometown.
Almost every fighter that Pacquiao fought in his career were bigger, so nothing really new here and he showed to be quicker than younger opponents just seven months ago.
As a professional Horn hasn’t yet been in the ring with a true world class opponent, so he has not been tested and proved yet, and he may lack experience.
The only positive thing for him is that on the paper nobody picks him to win, nobody expects him to pull the upset or even to be competitive.
This is a win-win situation for him.
What if he loses? Nothing, he fought Manny Pacquiao! What did you expect?
And if he can pull the upset? Well, he will definitely shock the boxing world by defeating an icon of the sport and by conquering the WBO title.
Fighter stats: here
Final thoughts
I have Pacquiao ahead in this fight with a decent margin; I’m even expecting him to win pretty easily.
Here you can check the last mitt works in the media day before this fight:
MANNY PACQUIAO
JEFF HORN
