44 $ 10M INCENTIVE
ALL Jeff Horn has to do to earn $ 10 million next year is beat Gary Corcoran tonight. No pressure. The path is virtually mapped out for Horn to become one of Australia’s highest- paid athletes next year should he retain his WBO World welterweight title against Englishman Corcoran in Brisbane.
News Corp Australia can reveal Horn’s last opponent Manny Pacquiao will make a return to the boxing ring in April, most likely against American Mike Alvarado.
Meanwhile, the winner of the Horn- Corcoran fight is set to face one of the sport’s best pound- for- pound boxers, Terence Crawford. World Boxing Organization welterweight title Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre Tonight Height: 175cm Weight: 66.52kg Age: 29 Record: 17 wins ( 11 by KO), no losses, 1 tech draw Home: Acacia Ridge Trainer: Glenn Rushton OFFICIALS Referee: Benjy Esteves Jr ( New York) Judges: Levi Martinez ( New Mexico); Lisa Giampa ( Las Vegas); Lou Moret ( Los Angeles)
Top Rank boss Bob Arum confirmed these plans.
“Manny is going to step up to the plate again in April,” Arum said. “Crawford is the mandatory, the winner of this fight has to fight Crawford, that’s a big fight in itself.
“Whoever wins that fight, and if Manny wins this tuneup fight he’s going to do, then the winner of that fight goes against Manny. I’ll look for Horn to fight at least two or three major fights in the United States next year.”
Horn’s promoter Dean Lonergan said 2018 could be life- changing for his fighter.
“There is a massive year lined up,” Lonergan said. “A lot of people want to know what sort of money they’re making, well Jeff Horn has got $ 1 million for this fight. Height: Weight: Age: Record: Home: Trainers: JEFF HORN’S POTENTIAL
PAYDAYS IN 2018 Terence Crawford: $ 2.5m Manny Pacquiao: $ 5m Amir Khan: $ 2.5m Anthony Mundine: $ 2m Errol Spence Jr: $ 2m
“Going forward next year, realistically if he had three or four of the right fights, potentially he could have a $ 10 million year — maybe more.
“So there is a lot on the line for Jeff from a financial point of view, but also from a reputational point of view.
“The problem with Gary Corcoran is that this guy is extremely fit, he comes to fight, he’s tough. If Jeff can score the first real knock- down against this guy it will be a massive step forward for him, but Jeff’s got the power and strength and he should be able to do it.
“Assuming he gets past this fight, he’s got some massive fights.
“Jeff isn’t distracted, he is not the one looking forward.
“Horn knows he’s got to get past this fight to get to the next one, and the next one could be a multimilliondollar payday against Terence Crawford, or go back down to hundreds of thousands of dollars if he trips up.”
If Horn defeats Corcoran and Crawford — he would be a big underdog against the latter — Arum said his rematch with Pacquiao would be held in Las Vegas.
“The fight against the win- ner of Horn- Crawford will be in the United States, in Vegas, Manny doesn’t want to fight in Brisbane,” Arum said.
However, Lonergan said a rematch against the Filipino great could only occur in Brisbane, as per the original contract in the first fight, because the rematch clause states a return bout has to be at Suncorp Stadium.
Should Horn, who drains himself each time to make the welterweight cut, decide to step up in weight, a lucrative local bout against Anthony Mundine is also an option.
And British star Amir Khan became the latest highprofile name to call out Horn, attending the weigh- in yesterday in Brisbane and stating he hoped to take on the Australian next year. JEFF Horn sat on the couch in front of the TV last night cuddling his heavily pregnant wife, Jo, and promising her that their dream run together would continue tonight against England’s Gary Corcoran in Brisbane.
Jo met Horn when he was a timid teenager at MacGregor High and he is now a world boxing champion ready for a battle tonight in which he could face headbutts, biting, low blows, rabbit punches – and the biggest shock – the early arrival of the couple’s baby daughter.
“I’m confident I have the speed and skills to beat Gary. The only problem will be if Jo delivers our little girl at the fight,’’ Horn said. “We might have to postpone the bout for a few hours because Jo will kill me if I don’t go to the hospital with her.”
After no food or water for 12 hours and an hour- long steaming hot bath to wring out the last bit of moisture in his body, Horn yesterday made the welterweight limit for his WBO world title fight with the hard- fighting English gypsy. He had dropped 4kg since Monday night.
He was in buoyant spirits, following yesterday’s 2pm weigh- in with a small bottle of water and a large sports drink. He then donned a unique prop – a pair of ear muffs with boxing gloves and teeth attached - as a nod to his opponent’s threat to bite him. Horn weighed 66.52kg and Corcoran 66.47kg. The welterweight limit is 66.68kg.
While Corcoran is full of confidence he is still so little known in the world of boxing that famous American ring announcer Michael Buffer twice introduced him to the crowd as “Gary Gallagher’’, drawing heavy groans from Corcoran’s team and from Bob Arum, the world’s leading promoter.
“They’ll all know my name after this,’’ Corcoran said. “I’m here to win and I’m taking Jeff Horn’s belt back home to my little girl in London.’’
Horn had an unlikely supporter join him at yesterday’s weigh- in, former world champ Amir Khan, who has been on the Gold Coast hinterland filming the TV show I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here.
“I want to get a good look at him fighting in person because he and I might be a big fight in 2018,” Khan said.