Pacquiao, who regained his WBO Welterweight belt against Jessie Vargas last year, is winding down his training in General Santos City and will fly to Brisbane over the weekend via Air Asia chartered flight with training crew headed by Freddie Roach and his entourage.
In a statement about Pacquiao’s arrival in Brisbane on Saturday, Horn advised Pacquiao to relax because he is about to grab Pacquiao’s WBO Welterweight belt.
“He’s arriving on Saturday and my message to him is relax and enjoy your stay in Brisbane because on July 2 I’m taking your world title,” Horn told Grantlee Kieza of The Courier-Mail.
While Horn is confident he will beat Pacquiao next Saturday, he wants to thank the fighting senator from the Philippines for giving him a rare opportunity to fight for a world title.
“But I have to first say thank you to him for giving me the chance. I never thought I would ever get the opportunity to fight for his world title and certainly not before a packed crowd at Suncorp,” he said.
Horn also also acknowledged the star power of Pacquiao for having attracted a huge crowd to fill the fight venue.
“He’s one of the greatest boxers in history and people in Australia have supported the fight because of his name and the chance to see an Aussie against him. But I believe this is the start of a new era,” he added.
Bob Arum’s Top Rank, Inc. is promoting the fight dubbed the “Battle of Brisbane” in collaboration with Australia’s Duco Events. The promoters expects the 55,000 capacity Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane to be filled to its full capacity on fight night. Read more:
In the undercard of the Pacquiao-Horn fight, Filipino world titlist Jerwin Ancajas, who fights under Pacquiao’s MP Promotions will defend his IBF Super Flyweight title against Teiru Kinoshita of Japan.
