American boxing fans are yet to embrace Jeff Horn, mainly because they feel that he was gifted a unanimous decision over Manny Pacquaio.
ESPN commentator, Teddy Atlas, nearly lost his mind when Horn’s hand was raised in Brisbane, arguing that he had been rewarded “for trying hard” despite Pacquaio landing “the cleaner punches”. He was so incensed that he even asked Horn himself if he believed that the judges had made the right decision.
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Few pundits are giving WBO Welterweight champion Jeff Horn a chance against the highly-rated Terence Crawford. There’s no doubt the gritty Aussie has a tough fight ahead of him, but should we really be counting him out?
His fighting style may not be easy on the eye, but Horn is no pushover. Just ask Manny Pacquaio.
Whether you agreed with the judges’ decision or not, no one can deny that the unheralded Aussie gave Pacquaio a much tougher fight than expected.
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Jeff Horn is a softly-spoken teacher and unlikely fighter. On Saturday he steps into the ring in Las Vegas to defend his title as world welterweight champion. Can this Mr Nice Guy revive boxing’s sagging fortunes in Australia? Ciaran O’Mahony reports.
This Saturday night in Las Vegas, before the packed bleachers of the MGM Grand Garden Arena and an international television audience of up to 10 million, a soft-spoken former school teacher from Brisbane will step into the ring to do battle with one of the most formidable fighters on the planet.
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The French Open draw was pretty kind to Rafael Nadal, allowing him to avoid a number of dangerous opponents in the early rounds.
It’s not like Nadal needs protection, as he has been virtually unbeatable at Roland Garros for his entire career. However, it doesn’t hurt that he will be able to ease into the tournament.
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Rafael Nadal’s absurd dominance at the French Open has meant that it is often viewed as a predictable Slam, but Roland Garros is no stranger to shock upsets. Nadal’s loss to Robin Soderling (back in 2009) is certainly up there, and he nearly suffered the mother of all upsets when John Isner pushed him to the brink in 2011.
Many of the lower-ranked players on the tour are capable of competing with the big names on their day, but few can sustain it over five sets.
However, the following three matches could provide the tournament’s first major casualties on the men’s side.
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Teddy Atlas will not be commentating Jeff Horn’s upcoming world title defence against Terrence Crawford if his team has its way, but the legendary analyst still doesn’t regret telling the Aussie star that he “lost” to Pacquaio in an awkward post-fight interview.
Atlas stands by his comments and told Fight Hub that it’s important that people with his influence in the sport speak out against unfair decisions.
“I believe when something’s wrong, somebody should say it’s wrong and not just let it go. I have a responsibility to say things that sometimes will cause people to get mad at me,” he says.
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This piece was shared by Foxtel’s TV channel Main Event
Rafael Nadal suffered a minor blip in an otherwise dominant clay season last week, losing in straight sets to Dominic Thiem. He’ll be disappointed that he surrendered the No. 1 ranking, but few would bet against Nadal picking up his 11th French open in a few weeks.
It’s hard to see anyone stopping the Spaniard in a best of five match at Roland Garros, especially when two of the few players on tour who have beaten him on clay, Roger Federer and Andy Murray, will not be competing.
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