Manny Pacquiao remains mum on his next fight although the names of Danny Garcia and Mikey Garcia are in the air. The immediate preference is a rematch with Floyd Mayweather Jr., but the American seems uninterested in getting anything done with the eight-time division champion.
If one is to go through the list of potential opponents, Pacquiao has plenty to choose from. If he is to look back at (controversial) losses, meeting Jeff Horn could make sense. However, the camp of the Filipino boxing icon has shown little to no interest in facing the Australian again, believing the pursuit is nothing more than to get another big payday.
A great way for Horn to gain attention is to go out and show the world that he is worthy of facing Pacquiao in a sequel. Unfortunately, dreams of that happening have dissipated following a surprise loss recently to Michael Zerafa.
The 31-year-old former school teacher turned boxer suffered a TKO loss to his fellow Australian last weekend. It was Horn's first loss as a professional. Going through the match, it seemed pretty clear that the former WBO welterweight champion was in for a rough encounter. He was also sent down in the second round, clearly showing he was not in the best of shape, ABC News Australia reported.
In a report from News.com.au, trainers are alleging that it was a sloppy diet that led to Horn's downfall. There were already questions in the air on his fitness. It turns out that the 27-year-old pug's hunch was correct. The defeat has left Horn pondering on retirement, obviously frustrated with the loss.
Had he won, Horn was set to face WBA regular middleweight champion Ryota Murata of Japan. But this was assuming he would come out on top of Zerafa. There is a rematch clause in the contract, but the former school teacher seems unsure if he will exercise it.
The same holds true for his aspirations on getting another chance at Pacquiao. Wins would have backed up his case for a rematch. The unforeseen loss further pushes him at the back of the line (if there is one), meaning that pursuit may be as good as gone.
Undeniably, Horn is at a stage where uncertainty over his boxing future is in the air. On whether he returns to the ring remains a big question mark.
“I definitely don’t want to be doing this game for too long that’s for sure, you don’t want to be battered up and bruised,” Horn said.
