Proudly holding up his title belt and flanked by Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, Australia’s Jeff Horn brushed aside the outcry against his shock victory over Manny Pacquiao on Monday (July 3), saying there will always be “naysayers” saying he didn’t deserve to win.
The 29-year-old former schoolteacher was awarded a unanimous 12-round decision over the eight-division world champion after a bloody battle in front of more than 51,000 fans at Brisbane’s Lang Park on Sunday (July 2).
“There’s always going to be the backlash where people are going to say I got lucky or whatever. There’s always naysayers saying that I didn’t win the fight, but, I felt like I won the fight, I think everyone… a lot of Queenslanders think I won the fight and people around the world. So you will always have the select few that are going to be against you,” Horn said.
Not everybody was happy with the victory, awarded with scores of 117-111, 115-113 and 115-113 by the three judges, and former undisputed world heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis was among those who disputed whether Horn should have won.
The critics of the decision pointed to the 182 to 92 punch count in favour of the Pacquiao, with some suggesting that Horn was awarded the victory for effort.
But Horn seemed unfazed by all the negative comments on his WBO welterweight win. He also praised the 38-year old Pacquiao as an “absolute warrior” and said that the Filipino boxer “might come in better” in a rematch
“Manny Pacquiao is an absolute warrior, he’s a legend of the sport. He might have come underdone in this fight, I don’t know. I guess if we have a rematch, and if he puts it all again, he might come in better, I don’t know,” he said.
Pacquiao, whose defeat was his first since his blockbuster clash with Floyd Mayweather Jr in 2015, indicated on Sunday that he would take up the option of a rematch and Horn said he would be delighted to face the 38-year-old in his first title defense. (Reuters)