One of 2017’s biggest boxing matches ended in controversy when unheralded Australia Jeff Horn pulled off a unanimous decision victory over 8-division world champion Manny Pacquiao 117-111, 115-113, 115-113 in the main event of Battle of Brisbane on Sunday in Brisbane, Australia. Pacquiao, who absorbed his seventh loss in 67 pro fights, is now facing the possibility of hanging up his gloves for good.

The controversy

Pacquiao and Horn engaged in an action-packed 12-round contest at the historic Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Australia. The 29-year old Horn was clearly the bigger puncher against this older version of Pacquiao.

The former pound-no-pound king is no longer the knockout artist he was in his prime, but he still controlled the match with clean shots and ring savvy.

Horn, on the other hand, resorted to rough-housing style of boxing. Having a clear four inch advantage, the Aussie brawler tuned his boxing showdown with Pacquiao into a wrestling as he used every underhanded trick in the book: from illegal head buts to low blows.

All in all, Pacquiao-Horn was an entertaining boxing match. Horn put up a strong fight and showed a lot of heart in tough moments of the match, especially in the 9th round. Then again, there’s no disputing in the eyes of boxing pundits and fans that Pacquiao won it decisively.

CompuBox showed Pacman was the superior fighter, landing more total punches 182-92, jabs 59-19 and power punches 123-73 against Horn.

Prospect of retirement

Although he’s letting Pacquiao decide over future, Freddie Roach believes it’s time for his prized fighter to hang up his glove for good. Pacquiao, who captured the WBO Welterweight title from Jessie Vargas last year, had shown some flashes of his old self in the match against Horn (especially in the 9th round), but couldn’t sustain the same intensity throughout the championship rounds.

Roach thinks ‘father time’ is clearly catching up with Pacquiao, who suffered his second loss in his last four fights. Moreover, the Hall of Fame coach also pointed out that juggling two jobs (boxer and Senator) at the same time makes it really tough for Pacman to stay at a high level. With that being said, Roach has no doubt retirement is an option for the Filipino boxing icon.

"That was a very, very busy round, very aggressive, very explosive, good combinations. That was the Manny Pacquiao I've been working to see. He had spurts… but not enough," Roach told reporters after the match via ABS-CBN.
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