Horn full of heart but outclassed

JEFF Horn has the heart of a champion. Terence Crawford has the heart and hands and feet of a great champion.

Just how brilliant a pugilist Crawford is became apparent as he dismantled Horn with ease at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

The devastating flurry late in the ninth round, forcing referee Robert Byrd to step in and wave off the fight after Horn had absorbed enough punishment, was the final touch on a masterpiece.

Horn could not crack the puzzle of a man who must now be considered pound- for- pound as the best in the world.

Horn’s plans to stop- start punch, use different angles and land flush on Crawford’s chin was sound, but for Crawford’s ability to nullify it all with incredible timing and speed.

He’d lure Horn forward, holding his hands down and chin up, and when the Hornet lurched in he was stung with perfectly placed shots.

When Crawford wanted to set the pace, he simply walked through the bigger man, using agile head movement before unloading threeand four- punch combinations that left Horn wobbled.

Horn may have taken the round, but Crawford owned rest.

“I was way stronger than him,’ Crawford said after his first fight at welterweight, holding aloft the belt carried here by Horn.

This loss takes much shine off Horn’s image; he remains a toughas- nails customer, but against the slickest fighters in the division he will be questioned for lacking the necessary skills. first the