Former WBO welterweight title holder Manny Pacquiao is undoubtedly one of the greatest boxers that have have lived, and although he appeared to accept his controversial loss to Jeff Horn in Australia with a sense of humility and equanimity and composure immediately after the bout in the ring, it was a different story when he was on his flight back home to the Philippines. “The referee wasn’t competent [and] I felt I was set up,” Pacquiao said. And about the judging: “It was horrible.”
As to who set him up, Pacquiao cryptically replied, “Let’s not get into that.”.
Part of Pacquiao’s greatness as a fighter, in addition to his exceptional physical gifts, is his competitiveness. In his grueling 12 hard rounds bout last Saturday with Jeff Horn in Brisbane, Australia he was unpleasantly surprised the judges sided with Horn by scores of 115-113 twice and 117-111.
Despite Pacquiao’s sentiment on the plane, two of his cornermen were reported as saying that they thought Horn had won.
Manny Pacquiao is a senator in the Philippines who is regarded as a potential presidential candidate, a philanthropist of some note and one of the greatest boxers who ever lived.