BRISBANE, Australia ? ?Senator, you?re being challenged by a schoolteacher. Aren?t you nervous about getting educated in the ring??
The rehearsed question, thrown Pacquiao?s way prior to Tuesday?s media workout, drew laughter from the reporter gaggle, breaking up the monotony of brief answers that typify these gatherings. Pacquiao, who is as economical with his words as he is unselfish with his punches, rarely offers any insight into the aggression which rests behind his ever-present smile.
?Good, he?s a teacher. Also, I?m a teacher in the ring,? said Pacquiao, contrasting Jeff Horn?s past occupation as a schoolteacher with the lessons he?s handed to opponents in the ring over the past 22 years.
Pacquiao?s often spoken of dismissively these days, like when unified welterweight titleholder Keith Thurman said the 38-year-old Pacquiao has ?had his hurrah? and was ?kind of dying out? as younger talent moved into the division.
Let?s get some things straight: easily defeating two top 10 welterweights last year, including the much younger Jessie Vargas to win the title in his spare time while working as a senator is not to be minimized. Pacquiao showed last November that he was still quick, could attack from perplexing angles, and had enough pop to drop Vargas for the first time ever.
He may be treated as an after-thought following the loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr, but Pacquiao is no one’s stepping stone. He’s still a handful for anyone in the division.
He?s won 11 world titles in a record 8 divisions, and defeating the likes of Oscar de la Hoya, Miguel Cotto and Erik Morales, it?s hard to live up to the standard he?s set.
That?s the quandary Pacquiao finds himself in ahead of his fight on Sunday, July 2, against Jeff Horn at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Australia. The bar had once been set at fighting legends each time out, then it became a 10-year streak of fighting exclusively against fighters who were former or current world champions.
Horn is the first opponent Pacquiao will have fought in 10 years that didn?t fit that criteria, and the matchup was panned outside of Australia, though the fight being shown for free on ESPN in the United States has taken the edge off the criticism.
Prior to being floated by promoter Bob Arum as a potential opponent, Horn?s was just a name you?d see in the rankings and think ?who the hell is that guy?? Arum told the story Wednesday of how Horn?s promoter Dean Lonergan, while negotiating with him for the WBO heavyweight title fight between Andy Ruiz Jr and Joseph Parker last year, told him to keep an eye on Horn.
Horn was rated number two by the WBO at welterweight, and scored a technical knockout of Ali Funeka on the Ruiz-Parker card.
Horn earned his seat by bringing 50,000 fans and the backing of the Queensland government to the table. And it can?t hurt the sport to pack a stadium in a town that doesn?t often have big-time boxing.
The criticism surrounding this fight pretends that Muhammad Ali never gave the underwhelming Jean-Pierre Coopman a shot at the title, or unnecessarily rematched Joe Bugner when he needed a dance partner in Malaysia. Like an old rock band rebuilding from a hit album hangover, sometimes it takes going on the road to freshen the act up.
It?s not as if Horn has nothing to lose (other than his unbeaten record), and Pacquiao has nothing to gain (other than $10 million). Pacquiao?s pay-per-view buy rates have steadily dipped after the letdown of the Mayweather fight. And after 8 years without a knockout, Pacquiao?s career is in desperate need of a facelift. Jeff Horn, with his relative inexperience coupled with an aggressive style, may be just what the doctor ordered.
