Manny Pacquiao vs. Jeff Horn

Battle of Brisbane

Company type	Boxing match
Industry	Sports, Boxing
Founded	July 2, 2017 (2017-07-02)
Headquarters	Brisbane , Australia
Area served	International (Australia, Philippines, United States, and others)
Products	Professional boxing contest

Manny Pacquiao vs. Jeff Horn, dubbed the Battle of Brisbane, was a professional boxing contest for the WBO and Lineal welterweight belts. Taking place on 2 July 2017 at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Australia, Horn emerged victorious through a disputed unanimous decision, securing his inaugural world championship title.

Background

Initially announced in January 2017, the bout's certainty wavered when Pacquiao intended to face Amir Khan in the UAE, a fight that ultimately did not materialize. The event was confirmed in April 2017 with financial support from Brisbane city authorities and the Queensland government. Despite some media doubts regarding the matchup's competitiveness, ticket sales exceeded 40,000 by early June.

From a financial perspective, Horn received $500,000, whereas Pacquiao was guaranteed a minimum of $10 million for participating.

Fight details

Before an audience of 51,052 attendees, Pacquiao was defeated in a closely contested match by a controversial unanimous decision, with judges scoring 117–111, 115–113, and 115–113 favoring Horn. Numerous experts and former fighters contended that Pacquiao had done enough to maintain his WBO title. Pacquiao accused Horn of employing illegal moves such as elbows and headbutts, which resulted in cuts during the fight.

Horn maintained an aggressive approach and demonstrated resilience, while Pacquiao nearly concluded the contest in round nine by gaining control and attempting to force a stoppage. Horn endured the round following referee Mark Nelson’s warning to stay competitive or face potential stoppage.

Official scorecards

Judge	Fighter	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Total
Waleska Roldan	Pacquiao	9	9	10	9	9	9	9	10	10	9	9	9	111
	Horn	10	10	9	10	10	10	10	9	9	10	10	10	117
Chris Flores	Pacquiao	9	10	10	9	9	9	9	10	10	10	9	9	113
	Horn	10	9	9	10	10	10	10	9	9	9	10	10	115
Ramon Cerdan	Pacquiao	9	9	10	9	10	9	9	9	10	10	10	9	113
	Horn	10	10	9	10	9	10	10	10	9	9	9	10	115

Aftermath

Although Pacquiao had lost four of his previous nine fights, he maintained professionalism by stating, “I respect the judges.” He activated the rematch clause to challenge Horn again later in 2017. According to CompuBox statistics, Pacquiao connected with 182 out of 573 punches (32%), while Horn landed 92 from 625 attempts (15%).

In relation to the disputed verdict, ESPN's Dan Rafael scored the bout 117–111 in favor of Pacquiao, with analyst Teddy Atlas also awarding it 116–111 to him. Both The Guardian and International Business Times similarly scored it 117–111 for Pacquiao. BoxingScene had it at 116–112 for Pacquiao; CBS Sports called it a tie at 114–114; meanwhile, BoxNation’s Steve Bunce scored it 115–113 for Horn. Overall, twelve out of fifteen media sources favored Pacquiao, two supported Horn, and one declared a draw.

Reactions

Horn’s surprising triumph over Pacquiao attracted widespread criticism from boxing commentators, journalists, and fans alike, drawing parallels to the contentious Pacquiao vs. Timothy Bradley encounter. Post-fight data revealed Pacquiao landed nearly double the punches compared to Horn. Dieter Kurtenbach of Fox Sports labeled the outcome as "rigged," while ESPN's T. J. Quinn tweeted: “No way in hell Horn won unanimously... A 117–111 card? Ridiculous. This is a hometown hit job.”

Pacquiao’s coach Freddie Roach voiced dissatisfaction with the judging, particularly questioning Waleska Roldan’s 117–111 scorecard. Pacquiao declared his intention to invoke the rematch clause and return to Australia for another bout, stressing the importance of impartial officials. In August 2017, promoter Bob Arum arranged a rematch set for November in Brisbane; however, Pacquiao later postponed this until 2018.

WBO Rescoring

Upon a formal appeal from the Philippines Games and Amusements Board, the WBO conducted a round-by-round rescoring of the bout using five anonymous judges. Despite this review, the original outcome remained unchanged. The reassessment favored Horn with a score of 115–113, indicating seven rounds won compared to five.

Results from WBO's rescoring panel:

Judge 1: 114–113 in favor of Pacquiao Judge 2: 114–114, resulting in a draw Judge 3: 113–115 in favor of Horn Judge 4: 113–114 in favor of Horn Judge 5: 113–114 in favor of Horn

Fight Card

Scheduled matchups:

Weight Division	Fighter 1	Result	Fighter 2	Outcome	Rounds	Remarks
Welterweight	Jeff Horn	def.	Manny Pacquiao (c)	UD	12
Super flyweight	Jerwin Ancajas (c)	def.	Teiru Kinoshita	TKO	7
Light heavyweight	Damien Hooper	def.	Umar Salamov (c)	UD	10
Middleweight	David Toussaint	def.	Shane Mosley Jr.	SD	8
Super lightweight	Brent Dames	def.	Jonel Dapidran	UD	6
Super bantamweight	Michael Conlan	def.	Jarrett Owen	KO	3
Super bantamweight	Brock Jarvis	def.	Rasmanudin	KO	1

Broadcast Information

The event was available on pay-per-view (PPV) platforms in Australia and the Philippines, with Main Event and ABS-CBN’s Sky PPV holding the respective broadcast rights.

In the United States, ESPN secured the rights to air the fight, marking Top Rank’s return to ESPN after previously broadcasting fights on the network from 1980 through 1996. This bout represented Pacquiao’s first appearance on basic cable in the U.S. since 2005 and his initial U.S. fight not on PPV in over ten years. The event also preceded the announcement of a long-term collaboration between ESPN and Top Rank later that year, which replaced HBO’s boxing coverage.

ESPN’s telecast drew an average audience of 2.812 million viewers and achieved a Nielsen rating of 1.6, reaching a peak viewership of 4.4 million across both English and Spanish-language channels. This made it the highest-rated boxing broadcast in ESPN and overall cable history.

Brazil || RecordTV || SporTV || Canada || || Super Channel || Indonesia || tvOne || || Mexico || TV Azteca || || New Zealand || || || SKY Arena Philippines || GMA Network
One Sports (2020) || || Sky PPVSub-Saharan Africa || || SuperSport || United Kingdom || || BoxNation || United States || || ESPN (English) ||

Country	Broadcaster Details
	Free-to-air	Cable/Pay TV	PPV
ESPN Deportes (Spanish)	} See also Boxing in Australia Sport in Brisbane References