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Pacquaio on next opponent Jeff Horn: 'I don't know him'

Lucy Nicholson / REUTERS

Manny Pacquiao knows as little about his next opponent as the majority of the boxing world.

With the former eight-division titleholder and current WBO welterweight champion scheduled to fight relatively obscure Australian pugilist Jeff Horn on April 23, one would assume that Pacquiao is already starting to prepare for the bout. However, he has yet to sign on the dotted line, and still isn't even sure who Horn is.

"I don't know him," Pacquiao told Fox Sports News, according to ESPN. "But that's what I heard from the news. But we're not finalizing yet about that fight or any future fights, I didn't talk to (Top Rank promoter) Bob Arum yet about that."

Arum announced the fight on Jan. 11 after negotiating with Horn's promoters, Duco Events. The bout is expected to take place at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Australia pending approval from the Queensland state government and sponsors.

All Pacquiao could say about Horn was that he was looking forward to fighting in Australia for the first time and that he hasn't even seen Horn's face yet. The 39-year-old Pacquiao heads into their meeting coming off of a unanimous-decision win over Jessie Vargas in his return to competition after a seven-month retirement.

Horn holds several minor boxing titles in the WBA, WBO, and IBF. He is 16-0-1 with 11 of his wins coming by way of knockout.

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