BINALAAN ng beteranong South African boxer na si dating IBO at WBF welterweight champion Ali Funeka si eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao na huwag magsobra ng tiwala na tatalunin si WBO No. 2 Jeff Horn sa nakatakda nilang laban sa Abril 23 sa Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, Australia.
Sa kanyang huling laban, lumasap ng pagkatalo si Funeka kay Horn via 6th round TKO sa Vector Arena, Auckland, New Zealand bagama’t napabagsak niya sa 3rd round ang Ausssie boxer na napanatili ang WBO Inter-Continental welterweight title.
Ayon kay Funeka, 38-anyos tulad ni Pacquiao, malaki ang tiwala niyang patutulugin si Horn matapos mapanood ang video tape ng laban nito kay dating IBF welterweight titlist Randall Bailey ng United State.
Iginiit ni Funeka na magulang sa laban si Horn at nakatutulong ang kakaibang estilo nito kaya natalo siya sa Australian boxer.
“I had watched his video footage and I was confident that he would not be a problem,” sabi ni Funeka sa BoxingScene.com. “But wait until you get into the ring with him and you will be surprised how awkward he is. He budged in with his head and rammed me with it on my left eye. After that I was dizzy for the entire fight.”
“He complements his unconventional style with power as he tends to swivel all his body when throwing a right hand to generate all the power to it,” dagdag ni Funeka na naniniwalang posibleng ma-upset ni Horn si Pacquiao.
“Pacquiao should leave nothing to chance when preparing for Horn otherwise he will get the shock of his life like I did. That guy is not pretty to watch but he does what he does successfully and he will surprise a lot of boxers with that style,” ani Funeka. “I know some people are dismissing him because he does not follow the boxing script when fighting but I am telling you he may upset Pacquiao especially as the Filipino is not the same dynamo he used to be.”
(Gilbert Espeña)
