THREE REASONS WHY PACQUIAO VS. HORN WAS A SUCCESS FOR ESPN

Manny Pacquiao vs. Jeff Horn

This past Saturday night on ESPN, Jeff Horn defeated Manny Pacquiao by unanimous decision to become the new WBO Welterweight champion in a stunning upset.  While many are upset with the judges scoring, here are three reasons why I think the event was a big success for ESPN:

CONTROVERSY CREATES CASH

Everyone on social media was talking about the controversial decision Saturday night. Even Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers weighed in on the controversy calling boxing a "joke". ESPN received a lot of free publicity from this fight which will make their next boxing events even bigger. This could even amount to a bigger rating for the network when Manny Pacquiao faces Horn in the rematch. 

BOXING WAS BACK ON FREE TELEVISION AND GOT GREAT RATINGS

USA TODAY reports that the Pacquiao-Horn fight was the highest rated fight on cable TV this decade with a 1.8 rating and a 2.4 overnight rating. It was the highest rated fight on ESPN networks since the mid 1990's. ESPN treated this fight like an event promoting it through it's highest rated shows including First Take and SportsCenter. Now that ESPN has partnered with Top Rank and Bob Arum, they have the opportunity to create some great fights and build its own brand of stars like HBO has with Canelo Alvarez, Triple G, and Andre Ward. 

ESPN CREATED THEIR OWN "ROCKY" STORY

Jeff Horn became a modern day Rocky when he beat Manny Pacquiao for the WBO Welterweight title. No one gave Horn a chance as everyone thought this would be an easy fight for Pacquiao. Horn's style was unorthodox and he was aggressive all night as he made Manny Pacquiao look "old" but at 38, Pacquiao showed the heart of a champion and fought to the end. He was gracious in defeat and said that he would like a rematch. Even if Horn loses to Pacquiao in a rematch he can still say that he beat one of the biggest names in boxing in his native Australia. Horn will be a star in his home country if not all around the world for that accomplishment. 

Jeff Horn and Manny Pacquiao will have a rematch. No matter who wins, ESPN will benefit and establish itself as a force in the boxing world once again. 

Class Dismissed,

The Professor