By Ron Lane
It is a day that is now well and truly written in the pages of Australian sporting history; Sunday 2 July 2017.
It was on this day that a relatively unknown Australian school teacher, Jeff Horn, bought 52,000 screaming proud Aussies to their feet, at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium.
The reason was that after 12 gruelling rounds of boxing against Manny Pacquiao, welterweight champion of the world, the announcer Michael Buffer uttered those famous words … “The winner and new …” – from there on it was impossible to hear the rest.
The cheering drowned it out.
The word ‘new’ said it all.
On the utterance of this word, the fight fans automatically knew that the champion had been beaten, therefore it was not necessary to hear the official announcement – “The winner and NEW welterweight champion of the world, Jeff Horn.”
The young Brisbane school boy who started taking self-defence lessons because, at school, he was sick of being beaten by school bullies – had just achieved the impossible dream.
He had done the unthinkable – beaten Manny Pacquiao, the Philippines and world boxing legend; champion in eight different weight divisions.
When we visit the record of both fighters it shows that the odds were definitely not in Horn’s favor.
When we break down the statistics in all honesty, a Horn victory seemed like the impossible dream.
Pacquiao had a total of 67 fights for 59 wins, six draws and two losses; Horn 17 fights, 16 wins and one draw.
Total rounds boxed for the champ were 443 and for the school teacher 94.
However, as the fight progressed, it became obvious that the vital matter of fitness would not be a problem.
Horn was in great shape and the three opening rounds, which I scored 10-9 for Horn, showed that Pacquiao could have a problem getting in close. From then on the champion’s tough walk-up style made it obvious that we were in for one hell of a fight; and we were.
A cut eye for Horn and a head cut to Pacquiao had both bleeding.
Round 9 was all Pacquiao, to me it was possibly the only 10-8 round of the fight.
At the end of the round, referee Mark Nelson spoke to the Horn corner to check, but Horn was okay; his comeback in the 10th showed his true colours.
A new champion was in the making.
Next week we look at the aftermath.
