It seems that boxing fans may be able to watch a rematch between Manny Pacquiao and Jeff Horn. Although no final details of the match have been posted yet, the match is close to being worked out, according to Top Rank promotions boss Bob Arum.
In a Twitter post, Yahoo! Sports' Chris Mannix revealed about the prospective rematch. "Bob Arum tells Y! that they 'are pretty much there' on Pacquiao-Horn rematch," said in the tweet. "Site--somewhere in Australia--still to be determined."
Horn and Pacquiao's fight became widely controversial after Horn won a 17–111, 115–113, 115–113 unanimous victory that many deemed unacceptable. Boxing fans, top celebrities, and even prominent boxing commentator Teddy Atlas believed that Pacquiao should have won the fight.
Many netizens reacted to the judges' scoring of the fight, a matter Arum immediately addressed if ever the possible rematch will take place. According to Fox Sports, Arum asked WBO (World Boxing Organization) to submit the judges' names beforehand so as to be fully vetted by both camps.
Arum asked @WorldBoxingOrg to submit judges names to "be fully vetted by both sides." Says he wants all neutral judges for the rematch.
— Chris Mannix (@ChrisMannixYS) August 16, 2017 " data-caption="null" data-credit="null">"Just give us a date, a time and the place to show up so we can get it on,'' Horn stated to Townsville Bulletin, as reported by Fightnews.com. "There was so much backlash on that last fight with judging and then going to a recount. I think I'll improve from the first time and when I beat him again, it won't be considered a fluke,'' he added.
The intensity of the controversy of Horn and Pacquiao's last match was so extreme that the WBO was forced to conduct an independent investigation, but in the end, the ruling parties still favored Horn.
If everything goes according to plan, boxing experts think that the rematch will take place sometime this November. No location has been finalized yet.
