When it was announced that Manny Pacquiao’s next opponent would be Australian prospect Jeff Horn, much of the boxing community was left scratching their heads.

For months it was assumed that Pacquiao was building towards a fight against Terence “Bud” Crawford, likely to be the new face of Top Rank Promotions in the years to come as “Pac-Man” continues to fade.

Instead we were greeted with the news of a fight down under against Horn.

We scrambled to our laptops to learn a little bit more about the 2012 Olympian, who some suggest might be the final stop on the Pacquiao farewell tour.

For Horn, this is more than a fight for his own position in the boxing world. The entire Australian boxing scene is depending on a good performance from the 28-year- old former school teacher.

“Generally, boxing in Australia gets very little mainstream media,” said Dan Attias, a contributor to Aus-Boxing.com, one of the authoritative voices on boxing in Australia. “The only time we do get mainstream media is when one of our rugby league players decide they want to step into the ring and fight a guy that is 1-12.”

Attias said that story has been a little bit different this time around.

“The sport doesn't get a lot of mainstream credit or exposure, but obviously a big name like Manny Pacquiao, a lot of the major newspapers and television stations have run stories on the fight,” Attias said. “It's been getting a lot of attention.”

The last 25 years have been some of the most fruitful in Australian boxing’s history. A variety of fighters from Kostya Tszyu to Anthony Mundine to Danny Green all rose to a high level, capturing world titles on the way.

But Tszyu retired in 2005. As Mundine and Green prepare for a rematch of their epic 2006 bout, everyone is aware of how far removed they both are from their best days. The same can be said for former world champions Billy Dub, Michael Katsidis and Daniel Geale.

With many of the sport’s biggest Australian stars past their primes or retired, the scene undoubtedly needed a wake-up call.

The fight with Pacquiao will bring a lot of attention to boxing in Australia, but Attias doesn’t know if it will be enough to reinvigorate the scene unless Horn is able to win.

“If Jeff Horn wins? Then yes,” Attias said of whether or not the Horn vs. Pacquiao fight will reignite Australian boxing. “If he loses, it's hard to see that kind of support for boxing continuing. I guess a lot of the problem is that we don't have a lot of truly world class fighters. There's some ranked contenders and quality prospects, but few world champions. The mainstream kind of likes behind a winner. If he wins, I think the sport will definitely have a big resurgence.”

All of this begs the question: Can Horn actually win?

The eye test would suggest that Horn is in over his head this early in his career, even against a Pacquiao that has quickly deteriorating skills. At 16-0- 1, Horn has put himself on the scene as one of the most intriguing prospects to watch in the welterweight division. There was some talk of a showdown with welterweight stars Jessie Vargas or Errol Spence Jr. in 2017, but the Pacquiao fight is a significant step up from his recent bouts against over-the- hill versions of Randall Bailey and Ali Funeka.

“I've watched his last seven or eight fights and with each fight he's gotten a lot better,” Attias said. “As far as his style is concerned, he throws a lot of punches, angles well and has good footwork. He's starting to show some very good power.”

So how does he go about beating Pacquiao?

In a video interview with the ThaBoxingVoice, Horn described himself as a “broken rhythm pressure fighter,” meaning that he will try to throw punches when his opponent is pulling back or coming in to try and ruin his pace and timing. In the same interview, Horn’s trainer Glenn Rushton said Horn was “capable right now of beating anyone in the world. There’s not a welterweight in the division Jeff can’t beat.”

Horn will have to stay active against Pacquiao in an attempt to avoid letting him find the rhythm he requires to put punches together.

Attias said that Horn will need to focus on defense if he’s to have any luck against Pacquiao, as he’s been dropped in his last few fights (Horn claims the Funeka knockdown was a headbutt, for the record).

“Power is going to be the big thing; Horn has a lot of tools he can use offensively and throws a lot of punches,” Attias said.

Rushton agreed, adding that Horn was a “younger, bigger version of Manny Pacquiao. He’s very deceptive.”

There’s an argument to be made that Horn vs. Pacquiao is the biggest fight to ever happen on Australian soil. While it doesn’t have the significant of the 1908 bout between Jack Johnson vs. Tommy Burns or the all-Australian feel of Mundine vs. Green, it will be the most watched event in Australia’s boxing history.

With a win, Horn will be the most world renowned Australian boxer in modern history.

No pressure.

By Shawn Smith/FloBoxing