For so long Australian fighters have begged for major bouts like this one and been overawed when their moment finally arrived. WBO welterweight winner Jeff Horn: 'I have climbed the Pacquiao mountain' – video People say the scoring was controversial. He could have won the fight in the ninth round, but there is no way he won seven rounds. “Show me yesterday where Manny Pacquiao won seven rounds. Round by round, how many did you score for Pacquiao and how many for Horn? I don’t want to hear that,” Upham tells Guardian Australia. “People say Manny Pacquiao did enough to win. Fox Sports boxing commentator Paul Upham is not among them. There are those who feel the Australian, regardless of his pluck and spirit, might have been fortunate with the judges who scored his points win. Before the Pacquiao bout, the Euphoric Queensland Memes page ran a headline that summed up the contender’s down-to-earth charm: “Jeff Horn begins pre-fight ritual by drinking large glass of Brisbane River water.” In that city at least, he’s unlikely to have to buy himself a beer for the rest of his life. Horn is now a cane toad sporting hero to rank with Allan Border, Greg Norman, Wally Lewis and Johnathan Thurston, or at the very least jockeying with battlers like Steven Bradbury for the cult classic slot. Perhaps Horn will not remain a household name around the world for very long, but his sheer Queenslanderness (training sessions in an investment-guru-turned-boxing-trainer’s salmon-pink mansion in suburban Stretton, you say?) has made this moment particularly sweet in his home state. Like all great overnight sensations of boxing, Horn’s success has resulted from years of hard graft – first to fight for his country in the 2012 Olympics, and since turning pro, the 17-fight undefeated run that put him in the frame for his first great pay day against Pacquiao. That nothing at all pointed to a victory for the humble, hard-working Australian will only add to its lustre in years to come, but in truth, the classic warning signs of a boilover were there from the start too: a brilliant champion taking his diligent challenger too lightly the exuberance of youth overcoming the battle-weary old stager an underdog lifted to new and unprecedented heights by a parochial home crowd.
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