Manny Pacquiao’s trainer admits Jeff Horn won their 2017 world title bout after years of denial.

It may have taken the best part of five years, but Manny Pacquiao’s camp has finally admitted Jeff Horn was the deserved winner of their world title clash at Suncorp Stadium in 2017. 

It was the day the former schoolteacher from Brisbane who was bullied as a kid announced himself on the world stage, claiming the WBO welterweight championship in front of 51,052 fans.

While judge Waleska Roldan scored the fight 117-111 and judges Chris Flores and Ramon Cerdan both had it 115-113 for Horn in a unanimous points decision, some pundits were outraged by the call.

Now, five years later, Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach has described Horn as an ‘awkward fighter’ who won the fight ‘easily’ during an exclusive interview with Main Event’s Ben Damon.

‘The Horn fight, he’s just an awkward style,’ Roach said.

‘Awkward guy for anyone actually. But your guy did take care of him pretty easily.

‘He had a style and [we] couldn’t handle him. But these things happen in boxing.’

‘He won that fight.’

Pacquiao held back his true feelings to let Horn enjoy his victory immediately after the bout, simply stating: ‘That’s the decision of the judges. I respect that’ at the time. His trainer Freddie Roach was also diplomatic.

‘I have to go along with Manny and say I respect the decision of the judges,’ Roach said.

But the Filipino champion told a different story in the aftermath. He claimed Horn hit him with several illegal blows, including elbows and headbutts, cutting him on three occasions.

Former schoolteacher Horn and world champion Manny Pacquiao put on a real war at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium in 2017

The Pacquiao camp even took their frustrations all the way to the World Boxing Organisation (WBO) and demanded the match be rescored. 

However, Horn’s win was vindicated when WBO judges rescored the match and reached the same verdict.

Even years after the fight The Hornet said he was still getting negative comments about the decision.

‘I still hear the negative words from people saying I didn’t win the fight and that it was dodgy scoring,’ he told ESPN.

‘Any other fights which have had ordinary judging lately, they always reflect on my fight and say how bad that was.

Horn was left battered and bruised after his title fight win and then had to deal with the slings and arrows of online trolls claiming he didn’t deserve to win.

‘A lot of people like listening to all of the commentary and things like that. I think that’s what stirred a lot of people’s opinions.

‘I’ve gotten over the trolls online who like to keep picking and picking and saying that I didn’t win.’