Noodle and hanger the quirky Horn fight trick
BOXER Jeff Horn is banking on an old coathanger and some $1.09 pieces of foam rubber as keys to a stunning victory over Terence Crawford in Las Vegas tomorrow.
A lifelong fan of magic tricks, Horn hopes to transform the humble household items into the keys that will open the highest spot on the world boxing mountain at the MGM Grand Casino.
Less than a year after he tore the WBO welterweight title from all-time great Manny Pacquiao at Suncorp Stadium, Horn has a big chance in the world headquarters of boxing to beat the crafty American rated by many as the best fighter in the world at any weight.
Last night Brisbane’s Fighting Schoolteacher had his final hit-out before the bout, sweating off 1.5kg in a plastic raincoat as he prepared to carry the hopes of a nation against a two-time world champ unbeaten in 32 pro fights.
Horn said he had undergone the best preparation of his career over four months, perfecting all his moves and counterpunches under trainer Glenn Rushton’s 12-point plan for victory and honing his accuracy and sharpness in punching-pad work with strength and conditioning guru Dundee Kim.
He said two pieces of equipment crucial to victory were a coathanger and foam batons he calls “swimming pool noodles” – flotation devices which boxing coaches use like fighting sticks to sharpen reflexes.
Kim reshaped an old coathanger into a circular target at which Horn punches, aiming to get his glove inside the wire circle to improve accuracy.