Boxing world has expressed shock over the declaration of greenhorn Australian boxer Jeff Horn as the winner of the welterweight championship fight against Filipino Manny Pacquiao.
The fight at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, was styled the Battle of Brisbane.
Although the local fighter Horn was very aggressive in the early rounds, using his reach and size advantage to pressure the Filipino champion, as the match went on, the masterful skill of Manny Pacquiao became more predominant.
The Filipino southpaw began to find his range against the taller opponent, Xinhua news agency reported.
In the ninth round, Horn appeared fatigued and the fight was in danger of being stopped, but the home crowd of 50,000 fans rallied behind the Aussie, to see him finish the stronger of the two.
Judges scored the 12 round contest 117-111, 115-113, 115-113, for a unanimous decision victory to Jeff Horn, who is the new WBO welterweight champion of the world.
But the judges verdict has opened a floodgate of criticisms as the match statistics really showed that it was Pacquiao who ought to have been declared the winner.
One commentator said, boxing should henceforth be declared a business, rather than a sport.
