“I’ll fight anybody,” says superstar Manny Pacquiao. Yet while the amazing 40 year old might or might not wind up facing Keith Thurman next, or maybe even fellow mega-star and all time great Floyd Mayweather, one man Pac-Man will NOT be fighting – next or at any other time – is Australian warrior Jeff Horn. As fans of course know, “The Hornet” scored the biggest win of his career back in July of 2017, when he stunned Pacquiao (and the boxing world) to take a unanimous decision and the WBO welterweight title.
And now, with Pacquiao back as big and, maybe, (almost) as good as ever, Horn has called for a return fight with the Filipino icon. Horn has fought up well above the 147 pound limit quite recently (when he swiftly turned back the challenge of countryman Anthony Mundine back in November) but he would welcome a second fight with Pacquiao at welterweight. Horn would love the chance to prove his win was no fluke but Pacquiao has poured cold water on such a notion.
As quoted by The Manila Times, Pacquiao said that he will not be “fooled again” by Horn and that he wanted a rematch soon after he had lost to the Australian, but not any longer.
“Unsettled business? I wanted a rematch when I lost to Horn but they refused,” Manny said. “Now that I’ve won in my comeback fight in the U.S, they’re negotiating for a rematch. They were taking advantage of me. They took advantage of me the first time but never again. They fooled me once….”
It’s not clear how Horn “took advantage” of Pacquiao but in terms of his next fight, Pacquiao does have bigger and better options than a sequel with Horn; as interesting as a rematch would be (was it a fluke or could Horn prove otherwise? We shall now never know it seems). Thurman has called for a fight with Pacquiao and of course talk of that return with “Money” refuses to go away.
He might not remain at the top for too much longer (although with Pacquiao, a truly astonishing physical specimen, we can never know for sure) so Manny has to pick the big fights that appeal most to him. This doesn’t include a return rumble with Horn.
