ESPN Fight Preview

Manny Pacquiao vs. Jeff Horn

Usually a high profile fighter like Manny Pacquiao would find himself fighting on subscription cable or pay-per-view but that won't be the case on Saturday night.  Instead Pacquiao will be fighting on ESPN, which is great for fans tired of paying climbing pay-per-view prices.  His opponent though leaves less to be excited about.  Pacquiao will take on the mostly unknown Australian  Jeff Horn and the two are scheduled to go 12 rounds with Pacquiao's WBO welterweight title on the line.  In this bout both fighters will be facing a new challenge.  Pacquiao will be heading to Australia for his first fight there while Horn will be facing by far his best opponent to date.

Pacquiao landing a straight left hand

By now most fans know Pacquiao as one of the best fighters of his generation and although he is aging he is still a top 10 pound-for-pound talent.  The Filipino Senator fights out of the southpaw stance and has always had a very awkward style.  Punches seemingly come from every possible angle when Pacquiao is letting his hands go and he still has very good hand speed.  Behind a stiff jab Pacquiao will throw his most dangerous punch, the straight left hand but he can also do damage with his right hook.  While he has never been great defensively his offense has always been his defense and he loves to be on the attack, throwing combinations.  However, as he has gotten older and more religious his finishing power has seemed to vanish and he hasn't scored a knockout since 2009 despite dropping opponents numerous times since then.

As far as resumes go they don't get much better than the one Pacquiao has managed to put together.  His career record is 59-6-2 with 38 knockouts and he has never shied away from top level opposition.  Since turning pro in 1995 Pacquiao has faced top fighters such as Floyd Mayweather, Miguel Cotto, Juan Manuel Marquez, Shane Mosley, Erik Morales, Marco Antonio Barrera, and Oscar De La Hoya and that isn't even naming them all.  In his most recent fight Pacquiao took on Jessie Vargas and dropped him once on his way to a wide unanimous decision win and now he will look to be impressive against Horn as he looks to secure a rematch with Mayweather.

Horn landing a stiff jab to the body

Horn is a 29-year-old orthodox fighter who has less power than Pacquiao but is taller and has a longer reach.  Horn likes to work behind a jab that isn't very skilled but he does bring a good left hook into the ring.  Along with that left hook Horn also has a right hand that can do damage but its a wild punch that isn't very accurate.  Defensively Horn has a bad habit of backing straight up while leaving his chin exposed and you can bet Pacquiao will take advantage of that.  Horn is a tough fighter though who has never been knocked out despite being dropped numerous times.  

The resume of Horn is nowhere near as impressive as Pacquiao's.  Horn does bring an unbeaten record of 16-0-1 with 11 knockouts into the ring but he hasn't faced many notable opponents during his four year career.  The two best opponents Horn has faced are Ali Funeka and Randall Bailey and while he did stop both of them he also tasted the canvas in both fights.  Saturday's fight will be by far the most important of Horn's career and a win over Pacquiao would really change his entire career.

This fight could end up resembling the one between Pacquiao and Chris Algieri.  Pacquiao was able to do whatever he wanted in that fight and dropped Algieri numerous times but he wasn't able to close the show.  Horn has an awkward style, solid power, and he's a tough guy but he is limited in his offensive skill set.  For Horn to consistently land punches on Pacquiao he might need to sellout early on and go for the kill.  Pacquiao has more power and faster hands than Horn and unless Horn can use his superior size to really rough Pacquiao up on the inside he could be in for a long night.

PREDICTION: Jeff Horn is a tough guy and he won't pack it in early like other opponents might.  Being tough won't help Horn beat Manny Pacquiao though and this fight should be a fairly easy one for the Filipino Senator and he will get the wide unanimous decision win.