HORN WARY OF THE MAN

JEFF Horn has conceded that a loss to Anthony Mundine next month would harm his career as he rebuilds himself in a bid to regain his worldchampion status.

The Queensland boxer will meet Mundine at Suncorp Stadium on November 30 in what will be his first fight since he lost his WBO world welterweight title to American Terence Crawford in June.

The clash with Crawford was Horn’s first career loss and his bout with Mundine is his first step back to the top.

However, a confident Mundine yesterday claimed he had no doubt about his ability to beat the 30-year-old Horn, who he said was “all hype”.

And Horn admitted another loss could hurt his aspirations of becoming a world champion again.

“It definitely would be very hard to pick back up the career if I have a second loss in a row, against Mundine,” Horn said as the pair faced off at Suncorp Stadium ahead of the River City Rumble.

“I’ve had a world title and defended it as well.

“I’ve only lost against one of the pound-for-pound bests in the world, so it’s a bit harsh saying I’m all hype.

“I need to have a very convincing win in this fight. I know it’s probably not going to be easy but I have to try as hard as I can.

“Time will tell who will win, and I believe it will be me victorious on that night.”

Mundine, who revealed to News Corp this week that the Horn fight would be the last of his professional career, was unshakeable yesterday as he warned his opponent of what was coming.

He fired a few barbs Horn’s way, but would not go as far as saying the former schoolteacher’s career would be over if he lost at Suncorp Stadium.

Mundine agreed with Horn that it would be hard for him to work his way back, but said if he lost it wasn’t to “anybody”.

“I’m one of the best in the world, I truly believe that,” Mundine said.

“He’s not losing this to anybody, he’s losing this to a very high-skilled veteran. He may bounce back, but he’s got to have a plan for that. He better start planning now.”

Horn said Mundine’s toughness was exactly why he had agreed to this fight as his comeback from defeat in June.

He said he was confident of beating Mundine and it was a good test as he put forward a case for a rematch with Crawford.

“He’s been the biggest name in Australian boxing for a long time now and he is a good boxer,” Horn said.

“He’s done extremely well and fought some hard fights.

“We believe he has got the skills to win these big fights and we’ve got to train as hard as we can to beat him.

“I think I’m a better mover than Mundine and it will overwhelm him. He won’t be able to stop that. He can’t tell me to slow down in there.

“I can keep going at a pace he won’t be able to withstand. Maybe after this fight he’ll call me The Man.”