Superstar Manny Pacquiao has touched down in Brisbane, Australia, a week ahead of his July 2 WBO welterweight title defence against local hero Jeff Horn. And the 38 year old all-time great told those fans who were there at the airport to greet him how he is looking forward to a “toe-to-toe battle” with unbeaten puncher Horn.
Accompanied by an entourage to rival any fighter in history, with over 160 people arriving in Brisbane with the champ, Pac Man then spoke about how excited and pumped up he is for this, his 68th pro fight, fought over a long 22 year career:
“In all of my years of boxing, I have never been as motivated and fired up as [for] this fight,” Manny said, as quoted by The Courier Mail in Australia. “My team is very happy with my preparation. I am looking forward to this and I will be going home as world champion.”
The fight, a huge deal in Australia, will likely attract millions of TV viewers in the US, with the fight going out live on ESPN, while fight fans in the UK can tune in live via Box Nation.
All inclination surrounding this fight is that we will be treated to an exciting slugfest, perhaps of the short and sweet variety. Horn, 16-0-1(11) can bang, he is hugely motivated and he has an entire country both supporting him and believing in him. While Pac Man, along with his trainer Freddie Roach, badly wants to end his KO drought (2009 since the southpaw dynamo stopped an opponent, this being Miguel Cotto, who he finally stopped in the 12th and final round of a good fight).
If Pacquiao, an amazing 59-6-2(38), comes out all guns blazing the way he used to do in his fights, and if Horn is right there willing to trade with him, fans will get a sizzler. In terms of the styles the two fighters have, it really is hard to see this fight being in any way dull.
It’s also hard to envisage the fight going the distance.
![Manny Pacquiao arrives in Australia: “I have never been as motivated and fired up as [for] this fight”](https://www.boxing247.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/1-cid_ii_j4a3ef2j0_15cd5dcbae04abd2.jpg "Photo: Manny Pacquiao arrives in Australia: “I have never been as motivated and fired up as [for] this fight”")