Horn won’t sleep on job
IT WILL be new territory for Jeff Horn when he touches down in Townsville today, with his family to remain in Brisbane for his anticipated bout with Tim Tszyu.
For so long the Hornet’s wife, Joanna, has been ring side when he has gone toeto-toe with the best fighters in the world but this time around the North Queensland trip is strictly business.
But Horn’s trainer, Glenn Rushton, said they had learned from the mistakes that hindered him in his first clash with Michael Zerafa.
On that occasion, the 32year-old Queenslander’s sleeping patterns were in disarray. As opposed to going to bed later to be fresh for the time of the fight, Rushton said Horn was dozing off too early.
“I was shocked when he told me he’d been going to bed early but he had the children with him and he didn’t want to keep them up,” the veteran trainer said.
“Then they were up early yelling ‘Daddy, Daddy’ and he unfortunately got himself into that bad cycle.”
While Rushton said it would be difficult for his fighter to not have his family in the crowd, ultimately they needed to do what was best to get the job done.
“After all, you’re fighting for your family and the family have to fight for you.
“I think when you’ve got two young children it is tough, the problem is sometimes with two young ones when he’s away, (he’s not) getting to bed the time he needs to be.”
The body-clock factor will also mean Horn’s training in Townsville will be conducted at night, with two local gyms in his camp’s sights for the last week of preparation.
Rushton said it was the simple “train as you play” philosophy to ensure Horn’s body is equipped to perform at its best at the time needed.
“We want to be able to deliver our best performance at the time we need to deliver on the night,” he said.