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Window opens for Jeff Horn to fight Manny Pacquiao

Manny Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum has rendered last rites on the welterweight champion’s proposed fight with Amir Khan.

Jeff Horn may get to fight Manny Pacquiao this year after all. Picture: Marc McCormack
Jeff Horn may get to fight Manny Pacquiao this year after all. Picture: Marc McCormack

Manny Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum has rendered last rites on the welterweight champion’s proposed fight with Amir Khan in the UAE, breathing new life into Jeff Horn’s quest for a superfight in Brisbane later this year.

Arum, who has regularly played down the prospects of the Khan fight, declared it dead and buried in an interview with the LA Times. Horn is now back in the mix for a welterweight bout against the Filipino great, with the Brisbane schoolteacher’s promoters Duco Events attempting to lock something in for midyear, potentially around the time of the State of Origin series.

Horn was originally scheduled to fight Pacquiao in late April at Suncorp Stadium but the bout was postponed when the WBO welterweight champion began batting his eyelids at Khan and a potential $30 million payday in the UAE.

The pair took to social media to declare the fight would go ahead but Arum sounded the death knell on that plan and said he had asked Pacquiao adviser Michael Koncz to relay the news to the champion.

“When they contacted me, I told them it was pie in the sky, that this is crazy, it’s not going to happen,” Arum told LA Times.

“Manny wanted to roll the dice. He rolled the dice and it came up snake eyes. That deal is done for now. [Pacquiao and Koncz] were talking to the wrong people.”

Arum had raised regular doubts over the proposed fight in the UAE, having earlier given an indication that Horn would be Pacquiao’s next opponent.

Duco Events had booked Suncorp Stadium after successfully lobbying for financial support from the Queensland government but they were rocked by revelations Pacquiao had been talking to Khan.

That bout is now dead in the water and Arum indicated a bout could take place in July — a date that fits in with Duco Events’ plans — against an unnamed ­opponent.

“Koncz will meet with Manny, and if he accepts it, we’ll go ahead,” Arum said. “If he doesn’t, there’s nothing we can do.”

Horn’s promoters are understood to have targeted a July date for the Pacquiao fight, meaning they could take advantage of the influx of people to Brisbane for the final Origin game.

They would also be able to use the interstate rivalry to fuel interest in the fight, potentially by having Horn enter camp with the Maroons and Pacquiao pull on a NSW jersey.

The plan is very much in its infancy — Suncorp Stadium is clear the weekend after Origin III — and still requires the go-ahead from Pacquiao. Horn is coming off a knockout win over South African Ali Funeka which moved him to No 2 in the WBO rankings.

Brent Read
Brent ReadSenior Sports Writer

Brent Read is one of rugby league's agenda setters but is also among the nation's most well-known golf writers. He also covers Olympic sports, writing with authority, wit and enthusiasm. Brent began his career in sport as a soccer player, playing with the Brisbane Strikers in the NSL.

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Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/more-sports/window-opens-for-jeff-horn-to-fight-manny-pacquiao/news-story/67f9aa62f8ec1cf9aa3ae53a790a241b