Manny Pacquiao vs. Jeff Horn: Actual Start Time, TV Channel, Free Live Stream Info For Boxing Event

It's a very rare event to have one of the most prominent boxers in the world defending his championship belt on basic cable. But that will be the case this weekend when Manny "PacMan" Pacquiao (59-6-2, 38 KOs) defends his title against Australian Jeff "The Hornet" Horn (16-0-1, 11 KOs) at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Australia.

The WBO welterweight championship fight will air live Saturday night in the U.S. on ESPN and ESPN Deportes due to a new deal between Top Rank Boxing and the all-sports cable network. Normally such a bout involving a champion fighter like Pacquiao would air on pay-per-view or at least HBO or Showtime.

The fight is expected to take place at about 1:00 p.m. Australian time on Sunday. In Australia, the fight will be shown on pay-per-view.

ESPN's live coverage in the U.S. begins at 9 p.m. ET on Saturday, though Pacquiao and Horn are not expected to start their fight until about 11 p.m. ET.

There is also a free live stream of the fight on the ESPN App.

ESPN's broadcasting team will be Joe Tessitore, Teddy Atlas, and welterweight Timothy Bradley Jr., who faced Pacquiao three times and most recently in April 2016.

The Pacquiao-Horn fight will be in prime time through most of the United States, but viewers in Europe are stuck with awkward timing. BoxNation will show the fight live in the U.K., where it will take place Sunday morning at about 4:00 a.m.

While Jeff Horn isn't exactly a household name, Pacquiao brings a large fanbase that has followed his career since he burst onto the international scene in 2004. Horn, a native of Brisbane, is undefeated though he has never faced an opponent close to the caliber of Pacquiao.

Because Horn is fighting such a well-known opponent, the prize fight has generated a great deal of attention in Australia. There is expected to be nearly 60,000 spectators at Suncorp Stadium.

The undercard features a super flyweight world title between IBF champion Jerwin Ancajas (26-1-1, 17 KO’s) of Panabo City, Philippines, and Teiru Kinoshita (25-1-1, 8 KO’s) of Osaka, Japan.

The Pacquiao-Horn bout is part of a growing trend to make boxing more visible to the general public. In March, Keith Thurman and Danny Garcia, two elite welterweights, fought on CBS. On Friday, ESPN announced that Omaha, Nebraska-native Terence Crawford will headline a unification bout of the light welterweight titles against Julius Indongo on Aug. 19.