Life imitates Rocky as little-known Jeff Horn teaches Manny Pacquiao a lesson

The eighth instalment of the Rocky series was unexpectedly released on Sunday afternoon in Brisbane when former school teacher Jeff Horn defeated boxing legend Manny Pacquiao in a unanimous decision to win the WBO welterweight title.

Despite entering the fight as an out of sight underdog at +425 against the only eight-division champion in the sport’s history, Horn surprised most boxing fans by making it through all 12 rounds against Pacquiao – and then shocked everyone minutes later by being declared the winner. Horn landed far fewer punches than his favoured opponent, 93 to Pacquiao’s 183, but the judges seemed to reward him for the aggressiveness he showed from the outset of round one.

In no way overwhelmed by the biggest bout of his career in front of 50,000-plus fans at Suncorp Stadium, Horn kept trying to land heavy punches on Pacquiao throughout the match. Despite that, it was Horn who was in serious danger of being declared the loser after a round nine bludgeoning that prompted referee Mark Nelson to tell the Australian’s corner that he was prepared to stop the fight if Horn didn’t show him something in round 10.

With the right side of his face battered and bloody, Horn insisted he had more to give and proved it in the 10th by steadying himself. His legs seemed even stronger in the 11th round and by the 12th and final round, he was back to trying to land heavy blows on Pacquiao’s bleeding forehead, which was cut twice in the match by incidental head-to-head contact.

Entering the fight, conventional wisdom was that Horn had to pull off the upset to secure his spot in the sport and continue earning big paydays. But as the final seconds ticked away in the 12th, that future had already been clinched simply by the effort he put forth. Even in what was a presumed hard-fought, but close defeat, Horn had earned his place in boxing.

It was the exact plot line of the original Rocky, in which Sylvester Stallone’s character gave it his all in an unexpected shot against the champion Apollo Creed. But then, in Horn’s real life story, ring announcer Michael Buffer announced him as the surprise winner, instantly launching Horn into the boxing stratosphere. He may not be a worldwide superstar yet, but Sunday’s bout is probably the last purse the Brisbane native will see that “only” earns him six figures for a while.

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Pacquiao’s chance to keep the decision out of the judges hands came and went in that 9th Round when he had Horn on the brink of a knockout. He couldn’t get the bigger Australian on the mat before the bell rang and when the 10th came around, Pacquiao didn’t appear to have much left to finish the job. Maybe it’s because he’s 38 and doesn’t have knockout strength in him anymore, especially not to take down a much younger opponent. It’s been eight years since he’s ended a fight by knockout, after all. But the 29-year old Horn deserves credit for not making it easy on Pacquiao at any point in the 12 rounds, even in those rounds that many felt were clearly won by the Filipino superstar, Horn stood in there, took shots and kept charging.

Many will now debate if the controversial outcome overshadows what was an action-packed championship bout. Horn’s camp and the many new fans he earned on Sunday won’t be bothered by that. In the moments after he was declared the winner, Horn challenged Floyd Mayweather Jr. to a fight and said he’d welcome a rematch with Pacquiao, too. The new champion earned more opportunities on the big stage with his breakout performance on Sunday. The Rocky story won’t be ending anytime soon.