Pacquiao-Horn fight comes full circle

Reports out of the Philippines this week suggest that the on-again off-again fight between global superstar Manny Pacquiao 59-6-2 (38) and unknown Australian Jeff Horn 16-0-1 (11) is back on with July 2 the proposed new date in Brisbane, Australia.

Back in January the fight looked set to go with both Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum and Horn promoter Duco Events announcing an agreement had been reached to stage the fight at the 52,500 seat Suncorp Stadium on April 23.

But not so fast, said Pacquiao’s manager Michael Koncz, who decided there was bigger money out there if they just looked hard enough.

And so began the mission of Indiana Koncz to the Middle East in pursuit of the mysterious desert millions that would make them all rich, rich, rich beyond their wildest dreams.

Koncz thought he had found the proverbial pot of gold when an unnamed group of backers from the United Arab Emirates committed $USD38 million to secure the rights to a fight between Pacquiao and England’s Amir Khan, who is of Pakistani descent, in the UAE in the spring.

This culminated in dual tweets from the Pacquiao and Khan accounts on February 26 announcing terms had been reached for their “superfight” on April 23.

But not so fast, said Arum, we still don’t have a guarantee on the money.

And when the mysterious Middle Eastern millions failed to materialize, the fight simply evaporated like a desert mirage. Pacquiao withdrew to Pinoy politics and Khan to a highly publicized falling out with his family that saw him sack his father and uncle from his management team.