Brisbane, Australia ? Manny Pacquiao is willing to exercise the option in the fight contract that calls for an immediate rematch following his shocking loss to Australian Jeff Horn on Sunday at Suncorp Stadium in a fight dubbed as the ?Battle of Brisbane.?
?Absolutely,? Pacquiao said when asked about the provision in the contract that mandates Horn to grant a second meeting assuming he wins.
Pacquiao, the heavy favorite going into the match that was meant to resurrect his career, absorbed a stinging 12-round unanimous decision in a bloody brawl that left more than 51,000 on the edge of their seats and shocked the boxing world.
DIRECT HIT ? Manny Pacquiao winces after Jeff Horn scores with a right to the face during their welterweight title fight in Brisbane, Australia, Sunday. Pacquiao lost by unanimous decision. (Reuters | Manila Bulletin)
Horn, tapped to make Pacquiao look attractive once more as a way to lure back the fans and set the stage for a rematch with Floyd Mayweather, also didn?t rule out a rematch.
But Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum wasn?t in the mood to talk about it this early, adding that the tension remains high.
?There is a rematch clause and the clause has definitely has language that all things be okay, Brisbane has to be it (the venue). (But) we will figure it out,? said the 85-year-old Top Rank chief, who joined hands with Horn?s Duco Promotions in staging the bout here.
Arum insists that it will be premature and not ideal to raise the question right away with Pacquiao.
?I don?t know Manny?s future position. It will be unfair to ask him (Pacquiao) today,? said Arum, who has been promoting the Filipino the last 12 years.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Hulking Australian underdog provided a landmark moment for Australian sports history by scoring a 12-round unanimous decision over the bloodied Filipino legend Pacquiao before a record crowd of 51,052 adoring fans.
Horn, picked to make Pacquiao look sensational again after a string of non-KO wins, was the one who made heads turn earning scores of 117-111 (Waleska Roldan of New York), 115-113 (Chris Florez of Arizona) and 115-113 (Ramon Cerdan of Agentina).
The victory awarded Horn the World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight crown and most importantly, the bragging rights following a huge win over a certified all-time great.
?I feel amazing and I feel I am on cloud nine,? said Horn, who banked on his advantage in size and strategy to mess up Pacquiao?s quickness and experience.
Horn had shrugged off claims that Pacquiao would run roughshod over him owing to his being flat-footed and immobile but the 29-year-old local boy wasn?t the guy ringsiders thought he was.
Exhibiting snappy head movement, aggressiveness and a ton of bruising tactics, Horn threw Pacquiao off his game to raise his record to 17-0-1 with 11 KOs and possibly expedite the 38-year-old Pacquiao?s decision to retire.
At the end of the fight, Pacquiao?s head was cut on the right and left sides owing to accidental clash of heads in the sixth and seventh rounds. Referee Mark Nelson of the US ruled it both as accidental.
Horn took the first round by landing blows while Pacquiao was on the ropes, probably testing if the inexperienced challenger packed dynamites on both fists.
In the sixth round, a short right by Horn rattled Pacquiao, who shook his head to show that he was not in any trouble.
Still, Horn pressed on and stalked Pacquiao and even engaged with him at close range with the serious intent of sending him down.
In the ninth canto, Pacquiao came close to flooring Horn down as the crowd went wild.
But Pacquiao could not come up with the right combinations to get the job done, enabling Horn to survive the round and regain his wits.
Horn actually looked done and spent after the ninth round after Pacquiao scored heavily that one ringside official came up to his corner and asked if he was thinking of calling it quits.
Horn was even slightly turning his back in the ninth and Pacquiao?s fans thought they had the fight in the bag.
?Somebody told us that they?re close to stopping it and I told him, ?No!?? said Horn.
Even Horn?s chief trainer Glenn Rushton thought stopping the fight was just uncalled for.
But Pacquiao surprisingly became gun-shy in the tenth, allowing Horn to regain his bearings and do the same thing in the 11th and 12th rounds to ensure the win over the future Hall of Famer.
Pacquiao wasn?t bitter when asked about the decision.
?That?s the decision of the judges and I respect that,? said Pacquiao, who now has lost four of his last nine fights.
Pacquiao didn?t show up during the customary post-fight chat as he was being examined by doctor as a precautionary measure.
Pacquiao?s wounds on both sides of the head ? caused by unintentional headbutts ? also needed medical attention, said Arum.
On the sidelines after the fight, CBS Sports reported that one of boxing?s top experts, Teddy Atlas, refused to accept the unanimous decision against Pacquiao.
It reported that Atlas unofficially scored the bout 116-112 for Pacquiao and ?was stunned along with the rest of the boxing world to see Horn win the fight and do so unanimously.?
CBS Sports said Atlas chose not to hide his disdain for the result while sitting ringside doing commentary for ESPN and later confronted Horn in an interview, saying ?Congratulations. Great effort. I thought you lost,? he said. ?But great effort.?
Meanwhile, Pacquiao is scheduled to touch down in his hometown of General Santos City Monday afternoon on a chartered flight from Gold Coast, a scenic spot in Queensland 77 kilometers south.
NOTHING LOST ? PALACE
Malaca?ang said Pacquiao is still the people?s champ and national sports treasure despite his loss to his Australian opponent.
?Manny Pacquiao?s loss in Brisbane would not diminish the honors he bestowed to the people and to the flag,? Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella said in a statement.
?Nothing will change: Senator Manny Pacquaio will remain our People?s Champ, Pambansang Kamao, and National Treasure in Global Sports,? he added.
The defense and military establishments also heaped praises on the fighting senator and military reservist.
In his message, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said despite Pacquiao?s stunning loss, he is still a hero for all Filipinos around the world.
?Manny, kahit natalo ka (even if you lost) you are still our hero. Mabuhay ka!? Lorenzana said.
For his part, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesman Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla, said as heartbreaking as the loss is, Pacquiao exhibited the true heart of a champion in the fight.
?Sen Manny?s lost to a much bigger and ungentlemanly aggressive Jeff Horn exhibited the fighter in him and Manny remained a clean fighter all throughout. That sets him apart from all the rest,? Padilla said.
Army spokesman Lt. Col. Ray Tiongson, said despite the defeat, it was still a great fight for Manny.
?He did his best but Horn turned out to be a better fighter. Despite the loss, he remains to be an inspiration to our troops for the courage that he has been demonstrating every time he fights in the ring,? Tiongson said.
Pacquiao?s colleague, Sen. Cynthia Villar, said that Pacquiao might have lost to Horn but his ?feat as the greatest boxer of our time will be very hard to replicate.?
Sen. Joel Villanueva, meanwhile, said he remains proud of Pacquiao who will always be the ?people?s champ.?
In a post on Twitter, Villanueva said: ?We are still and will always be proud of you Sen @MannyPacquiaoTR. You will always be d People?s Champ.
Sen. Grace Poe also said that in the hearts of Filipinos, Pacquiao is still the champion.
For his part, Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III told off those suggesting that Pacquiao retire from boxing. ??Wag tayo makialam sa boxing career decisions ni Sen. Manny (Let?s not meddle with the boxing career decisions of Sen. Manny).? (With reports from Genalyn D. Kabiling, Francis T. Wakefield, and Elena L. Aben)
