Happy to weigh up chances for title

JEFF Horn plans to use his big weight advantage over Manny Pacquiao to grind down the world welterweight champion and stop him in the late rounds of Sunday’s superfight at Suncorp Stadium.

Horn, who has started to taper his weight down for tomorrow morning’s official weigh-in, is likely to be as much as 7kg heavier than Pacquiao when the bell rings at 1.30pm on Sunday.

Yesterday, Horn was at his favourite coffee shop in Brisbane chewing on a piece of fruit loaf but already savouring the taste of success.

The fight has already shattered the attendance record for an Australian fight with 47,000 tickets gone and pay-per-view sales on Main Event expected to top 200,000, making it the most watched pay-per-view event in Australian history.

Both boxers must come in under the welterweight limit of 66.68kg tomorrow.

Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach says his boxer is naturally a much smaller man and will probably weigh 65kg for the fight.

But Horn could be as much as 72kg by the time the pair get into the ring.

“The weight advantage will definitely help me in the later rounds because we’ll be pushing against each other all the time and it means he’s going to be pushing a lot more weight than I have to,” Horn said.

“I’m normally about 71kg at this stage before a fight but I’ve been sitting at 70.2, 70.3 for the last few days, as though my body instinctively knows the weight has to come down.”

Horn said he and trainer Glenn Rushton took a “highly scientific’’ approach to weight control, ensuring Horn retains his physical strength while dropping weight fast.