WHAT IS NEXT ON HITLIST
JEFF Horn, Brisbane’s humble hero, is on track to become the biggest earning sportsman in Australia and prove that nice guys can finish first.
The Fighting Schoolteacher says he is still gobsmacked by a whole new world in which he doesn’t even have time to respond to a text message from Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
The World Boxing Organization welterweight champion is poised to reap a fortune after conquering Manny Pacquiao at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday on one of the greatest days in Australian sport. He will be given a ticker-tape parade through Brisbane’s CBD on Thursday.
Celebrity agent Max Markson, who has represented the likes of Nelson Mandela, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and US Presidents Bill Clinton and George Bush Snr, says Horn’s boxing purses could surpass the multi-million dollar earnings of basketballer Andrew Bogut and golfers Adam Scott and Jason Day.
“Most of the money in boxing comes from purses,’’ Markson said. “Jeff might earn $100,000 to $250,000 in an endorsement contract, $10,000 or so for appearances but the really big money is in the fights. If he keeps winning he’s looking at many millions for every fight.’’
Waking up next to his pregnant wife Jo yesterday, Horn momentarily wondered if the victory before 51,025 people at the stadium and a global television audience of more than 500 million might have been a dream. But then he saw the championship belt – with all the gold and diamonds – and knew their lives would never be the same. Horn said it was “amazing’’ to contemplate how “life changing’’ the win was and how much he would earn for his next bout.
He said of all the fights he could take next he and his trainer Glenn Rushton, who first taught him how to throw a punch when Horn was a bullied schoolboy 11 years ago, were now chasing a bout with unbeaten American Floyd Mayweather, the greatest money-maker in boxing history, with the chance it, too, could be held at Suncorp.
Mayweather earned close to $200 million beating Pacquiao in 2015. Pacquiao earned $165 million for that fight, though he picked up much less – $10 million – on Sunday. The beaten fighter flew home to the Philippines yesterday.
Horn said one of the first things he and Jo would do would be car shopping, to replace her 2005 Toyota Camry.
With bonuses and incentives based on the huge crowd on Sunday, Horn will earn more than a $1 million from the fight to go with taking Pacquiao’s world title.