Manny Pacquiao made a successful return to the ring in November, and he will look to continue his winning ways in 2017: Top Rank promoter Bob Arum confirmed that Pacquiao will fight on April 22 against undefeated Australian contender Jeff Horn.
Arum confirmed the fight with ESPN’s Dan Rafael. While the venue for the fight is not yet set, Arum said that Pacquiao will likely fight overseas and this bout will be the first of a tentatively planned "world tour" in with the Filipino champion will fight in multiple countries outside the U.S.
Top Rank worked in unison with Duco Events, Horn’s promoter and also the promoter of WBO heavyweight champion Joseph Parker, who Arum recently signed a deal with to co-promote.
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"Once we have a location I’ll fly over to the Philippines to meet with Manny and finalize everything on our side," Arum said. "But he is going to fight Jeff Horn."
Horn (16-0-1) last fought in December, knocking out Ali Funeka in the sixth round.
Pacquiao (59-6-2) returned in November to beat Jesse Vargas by unanimous decision. He captured the WBO welterweight title that he had held multiple times in his career.