Manny Pacquiao and Jeff Horn will be facing off once again later this year. The venue? It depends who you ask.
Both the Philippines and Australia are claiming hosting rights to the rematch. Brisbane Lord Mayor Graham Quirk told local media that he was reassured by promoters that the city will once again host the bout in November.
Quirk said the fight is expected to be held at the same Lang Park stadium where a packed crowd of 50,000 saw former schoolteacher Horn upset Pacquiao for the WBO welterweight belt in an unanimous 12-round decision last month.
“I have had a meeting earlier today which has confirmed that Manny Pacquiao will definitely be in Brisbane this year for a rematch with Jeff Horn,” Quirk told local media.
But on Tuesday, the Department of Tourism announced that Pacquiao’s camp has declared its intention about bringing the fight to the Philippine Arena in Bulacan on December 9.
“This morning Cong. Eric Pineda who’s also with MP Productions met with Sec. Wanda (Teo) to seek DOT’s support for the upcoming Pacquiao-Horn rematch and he confirmed that senator Manny would like to have it in the Philippines,” DOT assistant secretary Ricky Alegre told News5.
Pacquiao himself hasn’t released a statement regarding the matter.
Horn’s surprise win over 38-year-old Pacquiao caused controversy, with many observers outraged by the decision.
But a WBO scoring review later endorsed Horn as the rightful winner.