Manny Pacquiao vs. Jeff Horn: Expert Predictions, Latest Betting Odds For Welterweight Championship Fight

Who is Jeff Horn and why is he fighting Manny Pacquiao?

That's the question on the minds of boxing enthusiasts and casual fans alike as Pacquiao defends his WBO welterweight title on Sunday (Saturday night in the U.S.) at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Australia.

Horn, 29, is a native of Brisbane and will have many of the nearly 60,000 fans supporting him in his upset bid. But the undefeated fighter has never fought anyone remotely close to as accomplished as Pacquiao, who is among the best boxers of this generation. Horn's most notable wins were against Ali Funeka of South Africa and American Randall Bailey — two boxers with very little name recognition.

The betting odds shifted slightly this week, and not in Horn's favor. Pacquiao enters as the clear favorite at -650, according to online betting site VegasInsider.com, and with Horn listed at +475. Earlier in the week, Pacquiao's odds were +600, while Horn was at +450. Coincidentally, Pacquiao has the same odds of beating Horn as Floyd Mayweather has of beating Conor McGregor in August.

"I think I’ve got the skills to upset him," Horn told Sky Sports in January. "If I land clean, I’ll definitely bother him. I feel like my style will suit fighting Pacquiao. He’s a good mover, he’s a hard puncher, but he hasn’t knocked out any welterweights any time soon, and I don’t think he would be able to knock out me either, unless I ran into a big one of his."

Pacquiao, 38, is expected to continue his career beyond the Horn fight. His trainer, Freddie Roach, believes this is a tune-up fight for a potential bout with Mikey Garcia or perhaps even Terence Crawford — possibly in December. Roach has also openly hoped for a rematch against Mayweather.

While Pacquiao might be considered an aging star, he earned two convincing wins since his famous defeat to Mayweather in May 2015. Pacquiao defeated highly regarded Timothy Bradley and Jessie Vargas in 2016, proving he is still an effective and durable welterweight.

To little surprise, most sportswriters expect Pacquiao to defeat Horn easily.

Dan Rafael, ESPN: Pacquiao KO in Round 6

Brian Campbell, CBS Sports: Pacquiao by unanimous decision

Peter Kahn, Forbes: Pacquiao by TKO in Round 8

Chris Williams, BoxingNews24: Pacquiao by decision

Bobby Ilich, International Business Times: Pacquiao by TKO

Anthony Riccobono, International Business Times: Pacquiao by KO