Arum: Manny to fight Horn on July 2

MANILA, Philippines -  Filipino icon and WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao has agreed to fight undefeated Australian Jeff Horn on July 2 at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane.

The 38-year-old Pacquiao signed the fight contract yesterday morning even as promoter Bob Arum said the finer details of the fight, the biggest in Australian boxing history, are still being ironed out.

“We’re slowly finishing up the deal to fight … people have agreed on essential points,” Arum told the Los Angeles Times yesterday. 

The fight will take place at around 2 p.m. Australian time, which is prime time (9 p.m.) in the United States. 

Pacquiao adviser Michael Koncz told www.philstar.com that while Pacquiao’s first fight of the year is sealed, the Filipino camp is not giving up hopes of staging a fight in the Middle East later this year.

 “I am still working on putting a deal together (for Pacquiao) to fight Amir Khan in October or November either in the Middle East or the Philippines,” Koncz told www.philstar.com.