Jeff Horn, top, of Australia and Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines fight during their WBO World welterweight title bout in Brisbane, Australia, Sunday, July 2, 2017. Pacquiao lost his WBO welterweight world title to Horn in a stunning, unanimous points decision in the Sunday afternoon bout billed as the Battle of Brisbane in front of more than 50,000 people. (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard)
BRISBANE, Australia—This early, Manny Pacquiao is plotting revenge.
With a rematch with Jeff Horn almost certain, Pacquiao said he’d do things differently so as to get back at the Australian, who snatched his World Boxing Organization welterweight crown Sunday.
The first thing Pacquiao promised on board an AirAsia chartered plane Monday, is that he would fight differently after experiencing Horn’s rough tactics.
“I would not focus on a knockout, but I would rain a lot of punches,” said Pacquiao, who threw fewer punches than Horn, 625 to 573, but landed more, 182 to 92, according to Compubox statistics.
The reason why he became gun-shy, according to Pacquiao, who once unloaded over 1,000 punches against Antonio Margarito in 2010, was because he’s gunning for a knockout in every round.
That he was letting Horn pummel him with blows in the ropes, is to test the Aussie’s power and also to catch him off-guard for a killer punch.
Pacquiao was able to land some and rock Horn, but the former school teacher was able to survive the flurry, particularly in the ninth round, where he got saved by the bell.
The other arrangement he would change, according to Pacquiao, is to have a say in the choice of ring officials.
Pacquiao doesn’t want a repeat of what happened in the “Battle of Brisbane, ” where, according to him, the referee and the judges did not do their jobs properly and pulled his record down to 59-7-2 with 38 knockouts, the last four coming in his last nine fights.
“I’d make sure that I get competent officials,” said Pacquiao, whose fight schedule is also dependent on his legislative duties as a senator.
“What I want is a fair deal for both fighters,” added Pacquiao. “If I lose, I lose. If I win, I win. That’s what I want.”
Team Pacquiao wasn’t given a hand in the choice of ring officials for the Horn showdown, although chief trainer Freddie Roach admitted that he’s heard of referee Mark Nelson before.
During the post-fight conference Sunday, the Brisbane City government and that of Queensland expressed willingness to stage a rematch, but other hitches could develop.
A possible stumbling block is that his fight against Horn concludes his contract with promoter Bob Arum’s Top Rank.
While Horn is willing to give Pacquiao a chance to regain his title, there may be changes in the purse of both fighters as the Aussie’s stock rose following the disputable victory.
Pacquiao, however, has proven that he’s still a major force in the global boxing stage as can be gleaned from the record hits ESPN got for airing Pacquiao-Horn on free television.
The 11-time world champion can still command a hefty purse than Horn, who has just broken through the elite circle of marketable fighters.