Pacquiao shrugs off age disparity with Horn

MANILA, Philippines — WBO welterweight king Manny Pacquiao said age will not be factor when he faces a much younger Jeff Horn on July 2 at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Australia.

In a Philboxing.com report by Pacquiao’s media officer Aquiles Zonio, the 38-year-old Filipino icon stressed he’s still capable of fighting like the young guns.

“Sa edad ko, nagagawa ko ang mga ginagawa nang mas bata sa atin. Ang tanong, nagagawa ba nang mas bata sa akin ang mga ginagawa ko lalo na sa training at sa loob ng ring?” Pacquiao said from his training camp in General Santos City.

Fighting younger opponents is not new for Pacquiao, whose 10 fights in the last six years featured only three opponents older than him–Floyd Mayweather Jr., Juan Manuel Marquez and Shane Mosley.

Pacquiao added that his ring experience and speed are what will separate him from his the 29-year-old Horn.

The fighting senator also played down Horn’s hometown advantage.  

“Fighting in an opponent’s turf is not a problem to me. A huge crowd cheering for my opponent will just motivate me further. When we climb atop the ring, only the two of us will trade vicious punches. So, I feel it’s never an advantage on the part of my opponent,” Pacquiao said. 

From GenSan, Pacquiao and his entourage will fly reportedly directly to Australia aboard a 350-seater plane tentatively on June 24. 

The same aircraft will transport the whole Pacquiao entourage from Australia back to General Santos City a day after the fight.