I SCORED the fight 115-113 in favour of Manny Pacquiao, but I have no problems with Jeff Horn being awarded victory and there are a few reasons why.
First, this was a close fight in almost everyone’s eyes.
Pacquiao’s team thought he won a close decision, Horn’s camp thought their man got it by a whisker.
I had a ringside view at Suncorp Stadium, others would have had sharper views and better angles on television, but without question this was a fight that went down to the wire.
It is unacceptable to see one judge, Waleska Roldan, award the fight 117-111 to Horn.
This was a close fight and the decision could have gone either way.Source:AFP
Even Horn’s team acknowledges he did not win nine rounds of this world title fight.
While I had it in the opposite direction, I can understand how those scores were made, because many of the middle rounds were close enough to go either way.
Secondly, in a bout this tight, intent counts for a lot.
And where Horn deserves credit is that he pushed the pace of this fight.
He brought the tussle to Pacquiao, who unusually became the counter-puncher rather than using his trademark style, which is to be a stalking aggressor.
Horn was the man doing most of the stalking, throwing more combinations, walking Pacquiao back to the ropes and unleashing more power shots.
Many have pointed to the CompuBox numbers that had Pacquiao outlanding Horn in clean shots by 182 punches to 92.
Jeff Horn started the more impressivelyof the two boxers.Source:Getty Images
Looking at these numbers, it seems outlandish that Horn could have won this bout.
But Compubox themselves recognise that raw numbers alone cannot be the unquestionable authority on fight results.
“The stats are tracked by two human operators with one operator tracking stats for each fighter,” said CompuBox, widely recognised as the most reliable source of statistics for boxing events.
“The operators are extensively trained to watch a fight differently than a normal fan would. Each operator concentrates on only one fighter and not the fight as a whole to accurately track the stats.
“The CompuBox stats in no way, shape or form, determine a winner of a fight. The stats are used to enhance a telecast, show the estimated barometer of activity by both fighters and paint a picture of the activity on a round-by-round basis.
Computers say Pacquiao landed more punches but it didn’t tell the whole story.Source:AAP
“Even though our database of over 7000 fights (and counting) shows that a fighter that throws and lands more punches will win 90 per cent of the time, the 10-point judging system clearly is the only way to determine winners in a fight.”
While I saw Pacquiao landing the cleaner punches, Horn impressed the judges with his relentless activity, enough to edge many of the close rounds including the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, 11th and 12th.
When you’re pushing forward as Horn was, judges unsure of who landed the better punches will often lean towards the guy who threw more, and statistics showed Horn throwing 625 punches to Pacquiao’s 573.
Pacquiao threw most of his punches from short distances, moving into the contact zone before unloading.
Jeff Horn cheered on by his crew and a huge Brisbane crowd.Source:Getty Images
Horn, the bigger man with the longer reach, was able to connect with punches from a further distance, while maintaining pressure in the closer encounters too, showed that he was not prepared to be outworked in any area of the ring or the fight.
Finally, this was truly a heroic effort from Horn.
The battering he endured in the ninth round from Pacquiao, when Horn was rocked by several hard hooks and was out on his feet, would have finished lesser men — some who hold world title belts.
The referee threatened to call off the fight in the 10th round if Horn didn’t fight back. Horn’s father wanted to throw in the towel but couldn’t find it.
Jeff Horn holds up the WBO belt in Brisbane on Monday.Source:Getty Images
Somehow, some way, Horn recovered and not only survived, but thrived in the final three rounds.
He sought Pacquiao out for engagement, and the ageing Filipino warrior just didn’t have the killer instinct he once had to knock out his pesky rival.
This was Horn showing the heart of a champion. He took Pacquiao’s best shots, refused to fall, and came back swinging.
When you get the chance to dethrone a champion and a legend, this is how you must do it.
Originally published as Forget the stats, Horn deserved his title
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