Jeff Horn, the fighting schoolteacher tipped to last just a handful of rounds with the great Manny Pacquiao, dethroned an all-time great.

It was certainly a close fight. For the record, this columnist scored it 115-114 to Horn.

I scored one round 10-10 and scored the ninth round 10-9. Many may have given Pacquiao (or Horn) that even round and others might have given the ninth round 10-8 to Pacquiao. Fair enough.

No one could’ve reasonably argued had the tight decision gone the other way. 

The judge who scored the bout 117-111 should never judge a world-title fight again but Pac-Man had clearly underestimated his opponent and gave away most of the early rounds.

Few people had properly considered the size advantage Horn possessed that was evident early on. Pacquiao overcome an even wider size disparity against Antonio Margarito in 2010, but he wasn’t on 38-year-old legs.

He rallied late in a close contest, but suggestions he was “robbed”, as he was in his first fight with Tim Bradley, are absurd.

The outrage and vitriol, largely coming out of the US, says less about the fight itself, and more about the disrespect the boxing world has always had for Australian fighters.

With the obvious exception of Anthony Mundine, Australian fighters have typically been humble no frills types. They show up in shape, are always durable and fight tough.

It’s often seen them disregarded by the establishment. In 1991, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, our greatest boxer Jeff Fenech battered African great Azumah Nelson for 12 rounds.

It looked a clear-cut victory. The judges called it a draw. Fenech was robbed of being boxing's first four-division world champion.

In 2013 then unified middleweight world champion Daniel Geale took on Brit Darren Barker in Atlantic City. He dropped Barker in the sixth can and was clearly the better fighter. He lost by split-decision. There it was again ‘thanks for coming, you fought a good fight, see ya later’.

It was amazing in itself that, on Sunday, the Aussie battler got the nod over an all-time great in a close fight, but there’s a lot more to the vitriol than what happened inside the ropes

Analysts this columnist respects, including ESPN’s Teddy Atlas and Dan Rafael, have been part of the chorus. They’ve earned their right to an opinion.

Others like Stephen A. Smith who (to borrow a phrase from Roger Mayweather) ‘don' know shot about boxing’, are easier to see through.

They’d all picked Manny to beat that guy they couldn’t even name. It didn’t happen that way and it’s easier to cry “robbery” than to wipe the egg off your face.

It also says a lot about the place Pacquiao holds in our hearts. It’s hard to recall a fighter of this era more beloved by boxing fans. 

It was helped along by his long rivalry with the easily detestable Floyd Mayweather. Mayweather won their 2015 bout comfortably and, in reality, that was it for the Pac-Man.

He’s since fought an utterly unanticipated rubber match with Bradley and cruised to a win over Jesse Vargas.

(Bradley was trained for his third bout with Pacquiao by Atlas, which could go a long way to explaining his outrage post-fight. His guy couldn’t do the job done and now this battler from Australia did – that’s got to sting a little).

Truth is, Pacquiao was already finished as a genuine pound-for-pound pay-per-view draw once his fight with Horn went past the sixth round.

Promotors hyped the huge viewing audience for the bout, but it was the first time one of Manny’s fights had been beamed into the US for free in over a decade.

Pacquaio stated that he will enact the rematch clause in their pre-fight contract and that has suddenly become his last chance at a final pay-day.

He may well win that fight, but only in Australia will fans pay big bucks to watch him go around again.

People can try and make Horn the scapegoat for effectively finishing a man who is the best pound-for-pound fighter of his era, but it’s neither fair or relevant. 

We hate to see greats of the sport finished in the ring and not on their own terms, particularly at the hands of an inferior fighter.

It happens all too often, but don’t blame Jeff Horn. He deserves his victory, and his moment.