Jeff Horn claims: I never denied rematch offer vs Manny Pacquiao
FILE – LAS VEGAS, NV – JUNE 09: Jeff Horn stands in the ring before his WBO welterweight title fight against Terence Crawford at MGM Grand Garden Arena on June 9, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Crawford won by TKO in the ninth round. Steve Marcus/Getty Images/AFP
MANILA, Philippines—Jeff Horn isn’t backing off in prodding Manny Pacquiao’s camp for another go-around.
The Australian welterweight took to Instagram to refute that and his camp denied a rematch with Pacquiao following their controversial match in 2017.
“For the record, I never denied a rematch,” said Horn (19-1-1-) via Instagram. “I don’t know who told you that.”
READ: Jeff Horn lets Manny Pacquiao know he’s ready for a May 2019 bout
Pacquiao, as per a report from Manila Bulletin, said he and his group reached put to Horn for a potential rematch of their fight that saw him lose his WBO World welterweight title via unanimous decision in what many believed should’ve been a victory for the Filipino.
Horn held on to that maroon strap for nearly 11 months, making one successful defense against Gary Corcoran before losing to Terrence Crawford in June of 2018 via ninth round technical knockout.
“I was willing to do a rematch with them but they didn’t want to,” said Pacquiao according to Manila Bulletin. “And now that I’m back on top and they are coming off a loss, they are asking for a rematch. No way.”
READ: Jeff Horn beats Anthony Mundine with 1st round KO
Pacquiao (61-7-2) recovered from his loss to Horn in a glorious way with a seventh round TKO victory over Lucas Matthysse to claim the WBA World welterweight title a year after losing the WBO title.
Boxing’s only eight-division World champion then successfully defended his title against Adrien Broner with a unanimous decision win in January of 2019.
Horn, meanwhile, moved on to middleweight and collected the WBA Oceania middleweight and WBO Oriental middleweight championships after knocking out Anthony Mundine in the first round of their fight on Nov. 30, 2018.
