It’s a go: Manny Pacquiao to face Aussie Jeff Horn in April 2017

Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao will start what Top Rank chairman Bob Arum calls his “global tour” on April 23, 2017 as he faces Australian Jeff Horn for the WBO Welterweight belt.

THE START OF 2017 FOR THE FIGHTING SENATOR. Manny Pacquiao is set to face Jeff Horn on April 23, 2017, though a venue and final fight purse has yet to be announced. Image grabbed from Bago Games on flickr

In a report posted on ESPN, Arum met with Horn’s promoter Dean Lonergan of Duco Promotions and came to an agreement on the April 23 fight date. “Horn and his management have agreed on the purse and now we’re working on a site,” said Arum.

Duco Promotions wants the bout to happen in Horn’s hometown: Brisbane, Australia, but they are open to holding the fight in New South Wales (Sydney), Victoria (Melbourne), and South Australia (Adelaide). If any of these venues don’t pan out, Pacquiao’s first fight for 2017 could take him as far as the United Arab Emirates.

Top Rank, for their part, wants the fight to be on premium cable, rather than the usual pay-per-view. “Our preference is to have it free for customers in the United States,” Arum said in an article from BoxingScene.com. Horn (16-0-1, 11 KOs) is popular in his home country, but virtually unknown to the rest of the world; this was cited as one of the reasons why Arum wants it on premium cable.

Fans have been asking for Pacquiao (59-6-2, 38 KOs) to fight unbeaten WBC/WBO super lightweight champion Terrence Crawford (30-0, 21 KOs), but Bob Arum wants that fight to happen later in the year. Arum is looking at having Pacquiao fight in Russia, London, and Las Vegas for 2017.

 

Source: ESPN, ABC-Australia, Manila Bulletin, Inquirer.net, Philippine Daily Inquirer, BoxingScene.com