Arum Not Ruling Out Possibility of Upset in Pacquiao vs. Horn
Apr 15, 2017 • 9:51 PM ET
By Edward Chaykovsky
Top Rank's CEO Bob Arum, who promotes WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao (59-6-2, 38 KOs), can't wait to for an expected crowd of 55,000 people to pack the house at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, when the Filipino star defends his title on July 1 against undefeated 2012 Australian Olympian Jeff Horn (16-0-1, 11 KOs).
Arum is not disputing that Horn is a huge underdog in the contest. The unbeaten challenger's best wins have come against faded former champions Randall Bailey and Ali Funeka.
Next week, Arum will arrive in Brisbane for a media tour with Pacquiao and they begin promoting the fight for the Australian fans.
Arum, 85, is not ruling out the possibility of an upset. He remembers how in 1978, when he promoted a big event where seven-fight pro Leon Spinks shocked Muhammad Ali for the heavyweight championship of the world.
Due to the time difference, the fight will take place in Australia on Sunday, July 2.
“I watched Horn’s last fight ringside in New Zealand and he’s a very capable young man,” Arum told The Sunday Mail from his home in Las Vegas. “If his fight with Pacquiao was in Vegas or Madison Square Garden in New York I wouldn’t give him much of a chance because I think nerves would take over against a fighter like Manny.
“But the fact Jeff is going to be fighting in front of so many of his countrymen will calm his nerves and I think he will give a great account of himself. I’ve been in this business 51 years and I have presided over some tremendous upsets. Manny is a big favourite but in boxing anything can happen and I have seen a lot of big upsets in my time.”
“The July 2 fight is a huge event. And I’m so glad that after a long time of negotiations it is coming to Brisbane and the huge stadium you have there. Fights like this are what makes the sport so exciting for me after 51 years in boxing. Australia is a great sporting country and to do an event like this for more than 50,000 people in Brisbane is really memorable.”
