CARY (North Carolina): Manny Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum is “optimistic” a rematch between his fighter and Jeff Horn will be confirmed in the next few days, he told Reuters on Thursday.

Arum said the parties in Australia were eyeing a November date in the same Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane where Horn beat Pacquiao in controversial circumstances last month.

A temporary cover would be constructed at the outdoor arena to cover the ring and the first 10 rows of spectators, a precaution in case of rain, he said.

“Manny’s on board, Horn’s on board,” Top Rank promoter Arum said in a telephone interview.

“The parties in Australia are meeting the Queensland government authorities on Saturday and hopefully the meeting goes well.”

Horn’s surprise welterweight victory over Pacquiao allowed the Filipino to trigger a rematch clause.

Many observers thought 38-year-old Pacquiao had clearly won and were outraged by the unanimous decision to Horn.

A World Boxing Organisation scoring review later endorsed Horn as the rightful winner.

“I wasn’t outraged,” Arum said. “I thought it was very close.” He added that the WBO would submit a list of three potential referees and 10 judges for the rematch, and that both camps would agree on which to use.

Published in Dawn, August 19th, 2017