Pacquiao vs. Horn Round-by-Round: How to Catch Live Updates Online

Manny "Pac-Man" Pacquiao will return to action Sunday (Saturday in the U.S.) as a heavy favorite in a WBO welterweight title defense against Jeff "The Hornet" Horn in Horn's home country of Australia.

The bout will be broadcast on ESPN rather than pay-per-view in an effort to push the partnership between ESPN and Bob Arum's Top Rank boxing promotion.

While the bout will be more accessible than most of Pacquiao's fights, there are additional ways to follow along with the action, including keeping an eye on Bleacher Report's live blog, which will provide round-by-round updates.

Ahead of one of the biggest names in boxing mixing it up with an up-and-coming star, here is everything you need to know in order to keep tabs on Pacquiao vs. Horn.

Where: Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Australia

When: Sunday, July 2. Card starts at 11 a.m. AET (Saturday, July 1, in U.S. Card starts at 9 p.m. ET)

Watch: ESPN

Round-by-Round Updates

Follow Bleacher Report's live blog for updates throughout the night as well as round-by-round analysis of the main event between Pacquiao and Horn.

Pacquiao's Keys to Victory

Pacquiao was once the most feared pound-for-pound power puncher in the sport, but that mystique has largely disappeared in recent years.

The 38-year-old hasn't won a fight by knockout since putting down Miguel Cotto in the 12th round of their clash in 2009, and he has lost three of his past eight outings.

Despite that, Pacquiao's adviser, Mike Koncz, stressed the importance of Pac-Man knocking out Horn rather than winning on the scorecards, according to Abac Cordero of the Philippine Star:

"Manny needs to make a statement. We cannot go and have a 12-round decision. If we can't win decisively we have to think about retirement. I told Manny that. It's imperative."

Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach, agreed with Koncz's assessment and suggested retirement could be in the cards if Pac-Man wins unimpressively or loses.

Per the Australian Associated Press (h/t the Guardian), Roach believes a dominant win is crucial in terms of landing bigger fights in the future:

"We need to look good in this fight to get the bigger names interested. I expect Manny's best in this fight. I am looking for a big win here. We want to go on to bigger and better things."

While Pacquiao's resume suggests out-boxing Horn and winning on the scorecards shouldn't be a big issue, it is abundantly clear that nobody in his camp wants him to do that.

It is difficult to say how Horn would react to a patented Pacquiao flurry of punches since he has never faced anyone at Pac-Man's level, but every indication is that the Filipino star will look to test Horn's chin.

Horn's Keys to Victory

Although Horn enters the fight with an undefeated record, his level of competition leaves plenty to be desired, and the step up to Pacquiao will be a significant leap.

Horn has just 17 career professional fights to his credit, and he has only gone the distance in a 12-round fight on one occasion.

Despite that, Horn believes he may have the advantage the longer the fight goes, according to ABS-CSN (h/t BoxingScene.com):

"I'm bigger than Manny in there, I'll probably have a few kilos on him, I'm nine years younger than him, so in the later rounds, that might show."

Horn also discussed his focus on a knockout, however, and reference Juan Manuel Marquez putting down Pacquiao in 2012:

"That Marquez knockout has been our main point, to land the same punch that Marquez did in the fight—the big overhand right—that's definitely what we're looking for."

Horn's lack of experience in comparison to Pacquiao suggests that attempting to go the distance and win by decision would be a mistake.

Since Pacquiao apparently plans on being aggressive, it could leave him vulnerable to counterpunches, which is likely Horn's best chance if he is going to pull off the upset.

Prediction

While Horn is the much younger and possibly hungrier fighter, there is no indication that he is anywhere near the caliber of fighter Pacquiao is at this stage of their respective careers.

Pacquiao's star has taken a hit, as evidenced by the fact that the bout isn't occurring on pay-per-view and that he's facing a boxer who most casual boxing fans are unfamiliar with.

If Pac-Man is going to get back to the top of the sport, he needs a big win in front of a hostile crowd, and that is precisely what he'll get.

Prediction: Pacquiao wins by knockout in fifth round.