Pacquiao came short of a KO

BRISBANE, Australia – Jeff Horn was on the verge of defeat in the ninth round of his bloody war against Manny Pacquiao at the Suncorp Stadium.

Horn had taken hits, solid hits, from the heavy-handed Filipino champion, and seemed ready to go down after controlling the early part of the contest.

But Horn managed to survive the onslaught.

At the bell ending the ninth round, Pacquiao, bleeding from two nasty cuts, looked at Horn and smiled at his younger, bigger, heavier challenger.

Even the referee, Mark Nelson of Minnesota, thought he’d seen enough in that round.

Nelson was ready to hand Pacquiao the victory.

“You’ve had enough. Show me something in this (10th) round or I’m stopping the fight,” the referee told the Aussie corner up close during the break.

“I’m here to protect you. Do you want to continue?” the referee asked.

But Horn would hear none of it.

“I wasn’t actually too bad,” said Horn during the post-fight press conference.

Horn wore signs of the bloody contest – a battered face.

“I was like, ‘Settle down everyone, I’m fine.’ I had recovered and settled down by that stage. That’s heart – being get hit and continue on,” he said.

“He (Pacquiao) caught me with good shots (ninth round) but I still felt good and came back in the tenth, eleventh and twelfth rounds,” Horn added.

Horn’s trainer and manager said there was no way he’d throw in the towel.

“No way,” said Glenn Rushton.

Pacquiao was one good punch short of victory.