By Phil Lutton
Manny Pacquiao has such little opinion of Jeff Horn that the Filipino WBO champion wants to use the July 2 bout at Suncorp Stadium as a chance to 'say hi to the Australian fans and media' before heading onto bigger and better fights later in the year.
After a spluttering start in April, when a proposed bout was scuttled by fantasy money in the Middle East, the welterweight title fight is now on the verge of official confirmation as both parties wait to sign the final contracts.
Taking Horn lightly: Manny Pacquiao.Credit: Getty Images
Duco Events, who co-promote Horn with Top Rank supremo Bob Arum, issued a statement on Thursday playing down 'speculation' over the fight, saying there was 'no event to be announced' until pens hit paper.
But that hasn't stopped Arum or Pacquiao's camp freely letting the cat out of the bag, while Fairfax Media understands Suncorp Stadium has been provisionally booked despite venue management refusing to confirm or deny any arrangements.
Online boxing bible Boxrec has already listed the bout as Pacquiao's next assignment, while his advisor Michael Koncz has confirmed the WBO title will be on the line, not that they are expecting to have to hand it over to Horn, who has been installed as a $6 underdog.
With the clash against Englishman Amir Khan off the table, Koncz said they would now step into the Horn deal, which has been backed by the Queensland Government in anticipation of a near sold-out stadium and mass eyeballs from international audiences.
Pacquiao and Konz have both been openly lukewarm about the prospect of fighting Horn (16-0-1), a 29-year-old former schoolteacher from Brisbane that fought in the London Olympics before turning professional.
He has a feel-good story but limited international profile, while Koncz and Pacquiao also clearly feel he has limited skills in the ring as they plan what amounts to little more than a flying stopover in the Sunshine State.
"We signed it, so yeah, we're excited about it. But again, my preference was to fight Amir Khan," Koncz told Fox Sports. "That didn't work out. We had this on the table so we decided to take it.
"Manny will train and do the best he can and hopefully we get the fight over with very quickly, we get out of there, we say hi to the Australian fans and media and come home."
Pacquiao (59-6-2), now 38, has won titles across eight divisions and at the tail end of a career that in his prime, had him rated behind only Floyd Mayweather as the best fighter on the planet.
He now spends his time between boxing and his duty as a senator in his home country, where he remains nothing short of a national hero. Should he beat Horn, he would aim for a fight with Khan in his next window or October of November.
But the clear upside in the fight rests with Horn, who could shock with the world with victory or put his name on the map with a bold performance. His profile has already had a massive boost purely from being in the conversation.
Pacquiao stands to make around $10 million from the fight, while eyes now will fall on the cost of tickets as promoters try to ensure every seat in the 52,500-capacity venue gets sold.