Shoring up defence
Horn polishes his armour as Las Vegas fight draws closer
SEVEN days out from takeoff, world welterweight champion Jeff Horn today enters the most crucial week of his long campaign to beat cocky American challenger Terence Crawford.
Horn, trainer Glenn Rushton and strength and conditioning coach Dundee Kim will use this week to iron out any flaws in Horn’s armour as he prepares for what could be the biggest sporting moment for any Australian in 2018.
The WBO titleholder, his family and corner team, leave for Las Vegas next Wednes- day after the most arduous training sessions of his fourmonth preparation to defend the belt he tore from Manny Pacquiao at Suncorp Stadium last July.
He will fight Crawford on June 10 ( Queensland time) at the MGM Grand Casino.
Horn will focus on his defence in close over the next week, making sure he does not stand too front- on as he attacks, an offensive glitch that almost spelled disaster in the ninth round against Pacquiao and caused him problems in his December title defence against London gypsy Gary Corcoran.
Sparring with American Ray Robinson over the past two weeks has also shown Horn that he cannot afford to drop his hands an inch as he punches to the body.
Crawford and his beefy trainer Brian McIntyre say that working with Robinson – who beat Crawford as an amateur – is no help at all, with McIntyre tweeting recently: “F### Jeff Horn … you still have time to back out the fight.”
But while confident that his charge can score a dramatic stoppage and hand Crawford his first professional defeat, Horn’s trainer Rush- ton concedes that the Nebraska challenger is “brilliant’’ and “very dangerous’’.
“We can’t afford to let Crawford nail Jeff with a big shot, because once Crawford lands a heavy punch, that’s when he goes from being a very elusive, defensive fighter into an extremely dangerous hunter,’’ Rushton said.
“His punches are laser sharp, pinpoint accurate and he throws them very fast and in combinations.
“Jeff will be going out there to put Crawford under enormous pressure and to throw him off his game.’’
Robinson, who has so far sparred 20 rounds with Horn, said Horn had a great chance of unsettling Crawford.
Robinson beat Crawford at the US amateur titles in Colorado Springs in 2005 and said while Crawford doesn’t have Horn’s power or high volume workrate, he does have deadly accurate counter shots.
And it is the one big punch that Horn knows he has to avoid at all costs in the fight that will pay him $ 2.5 million.
Horn will go through an intense 12- round session on the punching mitts with Kim at Yeronga today and another 12 rounds with the Koreanborn fitness guru on Friday.