Manny Pacquiao
Manny Pacquiao celebrates his victory over WBO welterweight champion Jessie Vargas following their title fight at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., November 5, 2016. Reuters / Steve Marcus

Manny Pacquiao will get an immediate rematch against Jeff Horn if he were to be upset by the Australian at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane on July 2. Though Pacquiao enters the bout as the overwhelming favourite, the Filipino has taken out a multimillion-dollar insurance policy after stressing on a rematch clause in his contract.

Pacquiao (59-6-2), after winning his two fights in 2016 against Timothy Bradley (Apr. 9) and Jessie Vargas (Nov. 5), will be defending his WBO welterweight championship against Horn. Though Pacquiao is widely regarded as one of the greatest boxers in history, the aging fighter has scored just a solitary knockout victory since 2009 and has lost three of his last eight bouts.

Dean Lonergan, the promoter of Horn, told The Courier Mail that Pacquiao will receive a rematch against Horn at the 55,000-seater in Brisbane. "It’s an immediate rematch clause. If Jeff wins the world title, Manny wants it back straight away. Brisbane will be the focus of the boxing world on July 2 and with Manny’s promoter, Bob Arum, now involved Queensland is set to host some huge fights over the next few years," Lonergan said a day before Pacquiao arrived in Brisbane to promote the July 2 fight.

Manny Pacquiao vs Jeff Horn rematch pencilled in for November

The rematch would most likely go down in November. Earlier this year, Bob Arum, who represents Pacquiao, told the media that the 38-year-old intends to fight in July and November. With the Manny Pacquio vs Amir Khan bout still on the cards for November, a loss to Horn could change the blue print for Arum & Co.

The undefeated Horn (16-0-1, 11 KOs) believes that his training staff is preparing him to create a major upset in 10 weeks. “My trainer is a very smart man in business and in boxing. I came to Glenn Rushton 11 years ago to learn self-defence because I was getting picked on at high school. I certainly wasn’t a tough guy — I didn’t even know how to throw a punch properly. But Glenn worked with me and made me believe in myself. Now I’m fighting one of the greatest boxers of all time. Apart from Dennis, Glenn has worked with most of the boxers at the gym from day one and that’s quite amazing to make champions out of guys who’ve never had a fight in their life," Horn, nicknamed "The Flying Schoolteacher," was quoted as saying.

Manny Pacquiao is expected to earn a little more than AU$10 million for the bout against Jeff Horn. He is currently the odds-on favourite to retain the WBO welterweight championship. Stay tuned for the latest news and updates on Manny Pacquiao next fight, Manny Pacquiao vs Jeff Horn and more.

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