Fansided

Jeff Horn completes stunning upset of Manny Pacquiao by decision

By David Rouben

BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA - JULY 02: Jeff Horn of Australia punches Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines during the WBO World Welterweight Title Fight at Suncorp Stadium on July 2, 2017 in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA - JULY 02: Jeff Horn of Australia punches Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines during the WBO World Welterweight Title Fight at Suncorp Stadium on July 2, 2017 in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images) /
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Jeff Horn completed arguably the biggest upset in boxing since Buster Douglas vs. Mike Tyson on home soil by beating Manny Pacquiao.

That. Just. Happened. Manny Pacquiao may be an aging fighter past his prime, and he was fighting in enemy territory, but nobody expected Jeff Horn to offer up a serious challenge. Horn did much more than that, as he beat Pacquiao on the scorecards in a game-changing upset.

Horn is no pushover — he represented his country at the Olympics and sports an undefeated professional record. Because of that, combined with the support of 55,000 rabid fans, many considered him to be a live dog. As soon as he put up a bigger fight than Jessie Vargas in Round 1, an upset was on the table. But whoever had the nerves to bet on him walked away super rich.

This fight was supposed to be the first leg of Pacquiao’s retirement tour, the last of which would’ve seen him take that elusive fight against Terence Crawford. But if there are two types of people on this Earth you should never trust, it’s politicians and boxing promoters.

This loss should trigger a nuclear option from Top Rank, as their plan to pit him against an overmatched opponent on basic cable has failed. Meanwhile, Horn should feel like he can start calling out money fights thanks to the overnight fame he’s about to receive.

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As for how Horn completed the upset, he simply stuck to his game plan. He worked the body and kept the pressure on Pacquiao all fight long. He also capitalized on Pacquiao’s age and the fact that hasn’t recorded a knockout in over seven years, which is how he kept going despite getting beaten up in the middle rounds. Pacquiao fans will cry robbery all day long — it’s not the first time they’ve done so — but Horn earned this win regardless.

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The most important thing for Horn is to make sure he doesn’t turn into his predecessor, Buster Douglas. While this is obviously a career-defining win for Horn, the pressure is on him to prove that it wasn’t a fluke and that he can beat fighters that are in their prime. At this point, though, it’s hard to deny his momentum.

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