Jeff Horn of Australia celebrates his win over Sen. Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines during the World Boxing Organization world welterweight title bout at Brisbane, Australia on Sunday. The Australia boxer claimed a unanimous 12-round decision victory with scores 117-111, 115-113 and 115-113.Dan Peled, AAP via Reuters
Manny Pacquiao may have been the picture of graciousness and sportsmanship in the wake of his stunning loss to Jeff Horn, but the "Pacman" pulled no punches after the bout when asked about the controversial result.
"For me, we won the fight," Pacquiao told reporters in Brisbane, Australia. "It's clear naman, kahit i-review mo ang fight."
Making the first defense of his WBO welterweight belt, Pacquiao was expected to cruise past the little-known Horn, who was fighting in a world championship bout for the very first time in his career.
Instead, Pacquiao found himself in a war with Horn, who never let up through 12 rounds. The Filipino icon nearly ended matters in the ninth round, only for Horn to get a second wind in the final three frames.
Horn wound up with a 117-111, 115-113, 115-113 win to become the new world champion.
When asked about the result inside the ring, Pacquiao said he had no complaints.
"It's part of the game," he said at the time.
Later, however, Pacquiao admitted he was trying to be respectful as he knew that complaining about the scores would accomplish nothing.
"Rerespetuhin ko na lang," he said. "Kahit magsasalita ako doon, tapos na 'yung resulta."
However, he stressed that he believes he won the bout, and that he was not hurt even when Horn repeatedly drove him to the ropes and unleashed a flurry of punches on him during the early rounds.
"Actually, blocked naman 'yun. Kahit ire-review mo 'yung tama, 'yung mga suntok niya sa katawan, blocked ko lahat 'yun," he said.
Giving Pacquiao more trouble were the cuts on his head, which he suffered in the sixth and seventh round due to accidental head butts. He needed to have the cuts stitched up inside the locker room afterward, but made light of the injuries.
"Okay lang," he said. "Malayo sa bituka."
As for his future in the sport, Pacquiao reiterated that he would like a rematch against Horn, but seemed reluctant to fight in Australia again.
"Depende na lang 'yan. At saka na pag-usapan 'yan, but for me, mas maganda sa Pilipinas," he said.