Philippines, 16 Sep 2025
  Home >> News

 


BOXERS

CURRENT CHAMPIONS 

FORMER CHAMPIONS   

RATINGS                       

NEWS           

FORUM        

FIGHT GALLERIES        

RING CARD GIRLS        


 
 
News  


Hats off to Sen. Manny: Was he honestly beaten?


PhilBoxing.com




THE immediate clear view was that of a great bout, a fight of the year candidate. Both Manny Pacquiao and Jeff Horn deserved a big hand. The Battle of Brisbane should go down as a credit to the sport of boxing, based on the sheer merit of compelling combat inside the burning ring.

The victory by the obscure and unheralded Australian hope could well be counted as the Upset of the Century.

It?s just too bad that the sparkling picture would suddenly blur, with dissenting voices the morning after calling the official result anything but honorable.

**

Truth is there was nothing very clear.

?You think Manny lost that one, talo ba?? exasperated neighborhood fans asked as they milled from the Barangay Vergara Court, where Kapitan Topet Mendiola again offered wholesome wide-screen viewing.

OK, maybe Manny didn?t lose, but you honestly believe Pacquiao won, panalo ba talaga siya?

Not even the most rabid Pacquiao devotee could offer a firm reply.

**

It?s like this: Based on the computerized count, Pacquiao should be a run-away winner with the tremendous number of punches connected. He landed nearly twice as many as the shots scored by Horn.

Unfortunately, the total picture painted through crushing shots and assorted intangibles would show Pacquiao had allowed himself to be outclassed, savaged and outfought--if not outpointed.

Pardon this, but the most tangible thing that surfaced was the painful fact that it was no longer the great Pacquiao who did battle out there in Brisbane on Sunday.

He started slow and tentative, thereby allowing Horn, whom Team Pacquiao predicted would start out trembling, the great momentum that ignited the fierceness which sustained Horn all the way to the final bell.

**

Pacquiao, who had been tipped to stop his inexperienced foe, was often on the cringing end of a bold and boisterous assault, which Horn also laced with some dirt.


Pacquiao nearly finishes off Horn in the 9th round.

Then came Round 9. Blooded and battered, Pacquiao suddenly woke up. He exploded with a fearsome flash of his original fire.

It was Pacquiao all the way. Just one last blow and that would be it. Sorry, but the bell rang with Pacquiao, visibly worn out, flailing limply at Horn. The killer punch was gone.

This reporter scored it 10-8 for Pacquioa. Horn had appeared hopeless, gone, thus forcing the referee to warn he would stop the fight in the next round, if Horn did not show him something.
Of course, the bigger wonder was how Horn, given up for dead, resurrected, returned to action in the tenth with fire in his belly and great valor in his eyes.

**.

It was not a clear and honest win. Still it would be unfair to say Horn did nothing worthy to merit the triumph. The venerable Thomas Hauser, who scored the bout for Pacquiao, put it succinctly when he said it was a combination of age, bad judging and, yes, Horn, that did Pacquiao in.

As could only be expected, questions and accusations continued to mount days after the Battle of Brisbane.

The Horn triumph will be scorned indefinitely, while Pacquiao, after licking his wounds, remains an adored treasure, with his legacy intact despite this latest debacle.

There?s an urgent plea for Pacquao, the warrior, to call it a day.

He has nothing more to prove. Please, Mr Senator: The entire nation also suffers each time you lose, fairly or otherwise. Thank you very much, Sir, we will always be very proud of you.


Click here to view a list of other articles written by Recah Trinidad.


Recent PhilBoxing.com In-House articles:

  • THRILLA IN MANILA GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY 13: JOE FRAZIER’S HUMBLE BEGINNINGS AS AN AMATEUR FIGHTER
    By Maloney L. Samaco, , Mon, 15 Sep 2025
  • A New King, A New Challenger: Turki Alalshikh Proposes Crawford-Benavidez While Canelo Alvarez Faces Defeat with Humility
    By Dong Secuya, , Mon, 15 Sep 2025
  • Highly Questionable Title Eliminator
    By Teodoro Medina Reynoso, , Mon, 15 Sep 2025
  • Yoseline Perez Earns Silver Medal at Inaugural World Boxing Championships
    , Mon, 15 Sep 2025
  • 21-year-old Filipino wins at Germany rapid chess tournament
    By Marlon Bernardino, , Mon, 15 Sep 2025
  • Nagoya Nightmare: Naoya Inoue Notches One-Sided Decision over Murodjon Akhmadaliev
    , Mon, 15 Sep 2025
  • Inoue’s Philippine Connection: Which Pinoy Super Bantamweight Could Challenge “The Monster?”
    By Carlos Costa, , Mon, 15 Sep 2025
  • Yoseline Perez Advances to the Finals at the World Boxing Championships Perez Set to Face Chinese Taipei’s Hsiao-Wen Huang for 54-Kilogram World Title
    , Mon, 15 Sep 2025
  • Canelo Gets Outboxed, Loses Undisputed Title to Crawford
    By Carlos Costa, , Sun, 14 Sep 2025
  • A Masterpiece of Boxing: Terence Crawford Dethrones Canelo Alvarez in Historic Showdown
    By Dong Secuya, , Sun, 14 Sep 2025
  • LEWIS CROCKER IS CROWNED THE NEW IBF WORLD WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPION
    , Sun, 14 Sep 2025
  • Battle of Undefeated: Callum Walsh Vanquishes Fernando Vargas Jr.
    By Dong Secuya, , Sun, 14 Sep 2025
  • Undercard Inferno: Mbilli and Martinez Deliver a Super Middleweight War Ending in a Thrilling Draw
    By Dong Secuya, , Sun, 14 Sep 2025
  • Crawford to defy odds?
    By Joaquin Henson, , Sun, 14 Sep 2025
  • Clash of Titans: The Final Predictions for Canelo Álvarez vs. Terence Crawford
    By Dong Secuya, , Sun, 14 Sep 2025
  • Weigh-In Results: Naoya Inoue vs. Murodjon Akhmadaliev
    , Sun, 14 Sep 2025
  • Inoue and Akhmadaliev Make Weight for Sunday's Battle, Watch it LIVE on Facebook!
    By Carlos Costa, , Sun, 14 Sep 2025
  • IIEE North Cotabato and Metro Central are the Golden Champion on 3x3 Basketball and 3x3 Chess
    By Marlon Bernardino, , Sun, 14 Sep 2025
  • Sydney Sy Tancontian is Female Awardee of Sports Hero of the Year
    By Lito delos Reyes, , Sat, 13 Sep 2025
  • Canelo Alvarez vs Terence Crawford: Size Matters
    By Chris Carlson, , Sat, 13 Sep 2025
  • BOOTS TALKS SPARRING WITH CANELO IN ‘DAY IN THE LIFE’
    , Sat, 13 Sep 2025
  • WEIGHTS FROM LAS VEGAS: CANELO - 167.5 LBS., CRAWFORD - 167.5 LBS.
    By Dong Secuya, , Sat, 13 Sep 2025
  • BELFAST: WEIGH-IN RESULTS AND FIGHT NIGHT RUNNING ORDER
    , Sat, 13 Sep 2025
  • Canoy cancels title fight due to child’s death
    By Lito delos Reyes, , Sat, 13 Sep 2025
  • Vietnam’s Pool Revolution: Hanoi Open Pool Championship
    , Sat, 13 Sep 2025




  •  



     
    PhilBoxing.com has been created to support every aspiring
    Filipino boxer and the Philippine boxing scene in general.
    Please send comments to feedback@philboxing.com


    PRIVATE POLICY | LEGAL DISCLAIMER
    developed and maintained by dong secuya
    © 2025 philboxing.com.