Manny Pacquiao vs. Jeff Horn: Live round by round results

Find out how much Manny Pacquiao still has left in the tank with our live round by round results of the “Battle of Brisbane” that sees him go up against Jeff Horn.

Sometimes we boxing fans get a bit spoiled and expect the best to fight the best all the time. For various reasons, it doesn’t always happen like that, and for a fighter as accomplished as Manny Pacquiao, it’s okay to take the occasional bout where you’re the unquestioned A-side.

The fight being billed as the “Battle of Brisbane” is definitely like that. While Pacquiao (59-6-2, 38 KOs) is one of the most famous boxers of his generation, Australian Jeff Horn (16-0-1, 11 KOs) is definitely not. What Horn has is an opportunity, one to make a nice bit of money and potentially pull off an upset that will make his name recognizable even to casual boxing fans.

Oh, and the WBO welterweight championship is on the line, plus the fight is being shown live and free on ESPN in the United States as part of the network’s new deal with Top Rank. That’s about as much exposure as you could hope to get.

As the announcers pointed out, the fight is taking place in an outdoor stadium and will hold the largest crowd ever for a Pacquiao bout. That’s not nothing.

Before we get to the action, we’ve got two national anthems to hear. First up, the Philippines, sung by Hamilton star Christine Allado. The Australian anthem follows, performed by Isaiah Firebrace, a great name for a singer if we’ve ever heard one.

The always awesome Top Rank boxing hype video plays and segues right into clips of Pacquiao and Horn. Speaking of the local challenger, Horn makes his ring walk first, leading with some AC/DC before it blends into “Seven Nation Army” by The White Stripes.

As the current holder of the WBO welterweight title, Pacquiao enters to a pretty typical mix of “Thunderstruck” and “Eye of the Tiger.” It’s a little surreal seeing Pacman on ESPN, but here we are.

Horn has slight height and reach advantages and is much younger, which may or may not turn out to be significant. He’s also in the midst of a career-high 204-day period of inactivity.

The referee in charge of the action is Mark Nelson. Michael Buffer does the fighter intros with his usual flair, and away we go.

Manny Pacquiao vs. Jeff Horn live round by round results

Round 1

Teddy Atlas notes that Horn does not have a sweat going and wonders if he’s not ready. He does come out as the aggressor, throwing his jab and trying to set up his right hand. Pacquiao has to lunge to connect. Pacman laughs a bit as he’s touched along the ropes. Manny lands a left and the ref breaks them up. Horn backs up Pacman to the ropes with body punches but his uppercut is blocked. Horn’s mouthpiece comes flying out during an exchange. Pacquiao having a bit of trouble keeping Horn off of him. Pacquiao scores with a left as Horn comes in without his gloves up.

FanSided scores it: 10-9 Horn

Round 2

That was probably as good a first round as Horn could hope for, and much better than most people would have figured. Timmy Bradley discusses how awkward Horn is, but one wonders if he can keep moving at this pace for 12 rounds. Pacquiao looks content to counter-punch, which isn’t something you generally associate with him. Pacman goes to the body several times before a clinch. Right hand by Horn is answered by a Pacquiao left. Left to the body by Pacman sets off a nice exchange. Big scramble along the ropes with nothing major landing before the bell.

FanSided scores it: 10-9 Pacquiao, 19-19 after 2 rounds

Round 3

Horn remains the early aggressor, really looking to set up big right hands. he goes to the body with two and lands one. Hooks land both ways before they clinch for a second. Atlas thinks Horn might be cut a little by his right eye. Neither man landing flush right now as they throw in quick spurts. Pacquiao just misses a big right hook as Horn rushes in. A straight left lands for Manny, and he rotates around Horn, peppering him with lefts. Horn likely lost that round late.

FanSided scores it: 10-9 Pacquiao, 29-28 Pacquiao after 3 rounds

Round 4

With Pacquiao backed into the ropes, Horn tries to make him pay. Pacquiao stumbles to the mat, but it’s ruled a push. Horn returns to jabs, and Manny does some work on the inside. Both men land straight shots as they head toward each other, and Pacquiao follows up with a body shot that lands. Horn holds Manny’s head down before a clinch. Pacquiao lands a left, then a jab as he backs out. Not a decisive round for either man, but Pacman landed the cleaner shots.

FanSided scores it: 10-9 Pacquiao, 39-37 Pacquiao after 4 rounds

Round 5

Horn lands over Pacquiao’s guard, causing Manny to mock clap in response. Horn reaches with a right and Pacquiao connects with a short left. Horn is supposedly landing only 12 percent of his punches so far, which isn’t great. Overhead left by Manny scores, and Horn almost gets caught in a brief exchange. They stand and trade with both men throwing with bad intentions. Pacquiao’s sharp left is the final blow of the round.

FanSided scores it: 10-9 Pacquiao, 49-46 Pacquiao after 5 rounds

Round 6

A slightly more assertive Horn tries to smother Pacquiao along the ropes. The ref calls time after a clash of heads, and blood is coming from the hairline of Pacman. The doctor checks it out briefly and the fight continues. It’s back to Horn advancing but not landing much and Pacman not able to do much to prevent it. Horn’s best shot seems to be to just overwhelm Pacquiao, but both men are coming up empty a lot here. Horn lands a sharp right hand, and that might have stunned Pacquiao a bit. Certainly the best punch he’s landed in a while, and maybe enough to win a round where neither man proved dominant.

FanSided scores it: 10-9 Horn, 58-56 Pacquiao after 6 rounds

Round 7

You know the Pacquiao camp was hoping this fight would have been over by now. Horn certainly won’t go away unless Pacman makes him do it. Horn jabs his way in, then lands a straight right after a bunch of mutual feinting. Pacquiao lands a few lefts before he’s driven back. The ref stops the action again, and this one looks worse for Pacman — really bloody. The ref and doctor say he’s good to go. Horn lands a right that gets the crowd going again, and Pacquiao tries to fire back off the ropes.

FanSided scores it: 10-9 Horn, 67-66 Pacquiao after 7 rounds

Round 8

Right after the bell rings, Nelson sends Horn back to his corner to have a glove re-taped. Let’s see if the blood emboldens Horn. The Aussie tries to put a headlock on Pacquiao before they’re broken up. Pacquiao lands a few short punches, then a left. Horn goes down but he got shoved and slipped — no knockdown. Still some very awkward interactions with the way both fighters move. A left to the body stops Horn briefly. Horn comes forward behind a straight 1-2.

FanSided scores it: 10-9 Pacquiao, 77-75 Pacquiao after 8 rounds

Round 9

Horn fires right out of his corner and lands a shot or two before the fighters head back to the center of the ring. Pacquiao just misses a two-punch combo, and he’s just a hair off on subsequent lefts. Horn backs up a bit and gets tagged a few times before connecting , and then he eats three power shots in a row. Manny pours it on, sensing an opening here. Horn’s eye is bloodier now, made worse by the leather he’s eaten in this round. Atlas thinks Horn needs to tie up, and that would do him some good. He staggers back but still tries throwing back at the bell.

FanSided scores it: 10-9 Pacquiao, 87-84 Pacquiao after 9 rounds

Round 10

Nelson told the Horn corner he needs to see something here or he’s stopping it. Horn’s best hope probably has to be that Pacquiao punched himself out in that brutal ninth-round assault. He could still eke out a draw on our card if he sweeps the remaining rounds. Pacquiao lands some light shots as Horn comes in, and both men end up swinging wildly and catching mostly air. Now they stand and trade with Pacquiao slightly getting the better of it. Jab by Horn, something he’s forgotten at times, but he lands a right. Quick scramble before the bell leaves both men off-balance.

FanSided scores it: 10-9 Horn, 96-94 Pacquiao after 10 rounds

Round 11

If nothing else, Horn earned his chance to continue, and he tries to corner Pacman while absorbing some more punches from the champ. Pacquiao scores with a crisp left in a rare moment where Horn is backed up. Horn is having trouble getting his shots off and is grabbing a lot. The ref stops things again for Horn’s right glove tape. Combo by Horn that Manny tries answering to the body. Horn nearly walks into a left hand, and he gets tagged by three straight jabs in the closing seconds.

FanSided scores it: 10-9 Pacquiao, 106-103 Pacquiao after 11 rounds

Round 12

The crowd comes alive for this final frame, and these boxers deserve that. The ref has his hands full early, and the tape proves reason for yet another brief timeout. Horn wants to wade in but he’s stepping into some serious fire. Left by Pacquiao and a right by Horn he tries to shoot through the guard. Bradley thinks the scores could be close because of Horn fighting in his home country. That’s certainly possible, and both men flurry along the ropes as the final round seems to end a little early. We’ll see what the judges thought of the “Battle of Brisbane.”

FanSided scores it: 10-9 Pacquiao, 116-112 Pacquaio

Atlas had it 116-111 after giving Pacman a 10-8 round in the ninth. The judges score the fight 117-111, and 115-113 twice, all for the winner by unanimous decision … and new WBO welterweight champion … Jeff “The Hornet” Horn.