Pacquiao and Horn are set to clash on July 2 at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Australia. At stake is Pacquiao’s WBO welterweight title.
Up until today, fans still do not understand why promoter Bob Arum picked Horn as Pacquiao’s next opponent when he is privy to the career record of the unbeaten Australian challenger.
The disparity between their credentials is so evident that Arum should have known before closing the deal that the fight was a potential mismatch that requires massive publicity buildup to sell it to the fans.
While Horn is still unbeaten in his professional boxing career, he lags behind Pacquiao in terms of skill and experience in the sport. The disparity is miles apart particularly in terms of the number of fights they figured since they turned pro.
Pacquiao has 68 career fights to his credit against Horn’s 16 fights. In a typical pie, it is less than a quarter of the whole which makes it visibly tilted in Pacquiao’s favor.
Pacquiao has fought just about everyone of the elite boxers in the sport while Horn has never experienced facing the best fighters in at least eight different weight classes as Pacquiao did except for about three challengers who were potential world titlists.
In terms of individual skill, Pacquiao is known for his speed and power which Horn would find difficult to suppress. While Horn has the edge in terms of height and reach, it is doubtful if he can capitalize on this advantage in his favor because Pacquiao has what it takes to neutralize opponents who are taller and bigger than him.
Looking at some of his past opponents who were taller and bigger, Pacquiao found a way to keep them at bay. Typical of these old foes were naturally bigger and taller include Antonio Margarito, Oscar de la Hoya, Joshua Clottey, Jessie Vargas and Floyd Mayweather, among others.
Added to the disparity between their credentials is the news that Horn is engaging the service of Czar Amonsot as Horn’s new sparring partner. Amonsot is a great boxer but it is doubtful if he can help Horn in his quest to pull up the upset against Pacquiao.
Seemingly, the only compelling reason for the choice of Amonsot in his preparation for the Pacquiao fight is his being a southpaw like Pacquiao. Amonsot is a brawler but he isn’t known for his foot and hand speed.
Amonsot does not have the speed of Pacquiao though he moves with significant mobility in the ring but not enough to address Pacquiao’s foot and hand speed.
If Horn wants to familiarize himself with Pacquiao’s fighting style, he needs to spar with someone who has the speed and power of Pacquiao. Read more:
Meanwhile, Pacquiao is set to intensify his training with the arrival of a new sparring partner—who predicted that Pacquiao could score a KO win against Horn in the seventh round—and with the senate taking a break this week.
Pacquiao, who is a neophyte Philippine senator has been training at the Elorde Gym in the Mall of Asia Complex in Pasay City, Philippines while attending senate session during daytime.
