Horn 19-0, takes aim at Crawford
Jeff Horn followed up his contentious WBO welterweight title win over Manny Pacquiao with a successful first defence against Gary Corcoran. Now, he’s heading to America.
The former school teacher from Australia won by technical knockout in the 11th round yesterday when Corcoran’s corner threw in the towel, with the England-based boxer bleeding from a deep cut above his left eye.
It was Horn’s first fight since his unanimous decision upset over eight-division champion Pacquiao in front of more than 51,000 fans in an outdoor afternoon fight at nearby Suncorp Stadium in July in the ‘Battle of Brisbane’ — a victory that some critics dismissed as a hometown decision.
LOT TO PROVE
Horn, now unbeaten in 19 bouts, is hoping that yesterday’s win at the smaller Brisbane Convention Centre sets him up for a fight against Terence Crawford next year.
“Yeah, there is a lot to prove to a lot of the Americans,” Horn said, reflecting on the criticism following his win over Pacquiao. “There are always going to be the doubters. All I can do is keep winning. That’s the key. Hopefully, I can start changing people’s minds one by one.”
Top Rank promoter Bob Arum said that he expected to soon confirm a Crawford-Horn fight in Las Vegas in April.
“We move on now. Terence Crawford is the mandatory contender,” Arum said. “Terence Crawford is one of the best fighters around. He was a lightweight champion — that’s 135 pounds — then he became a junior welterweight (140 pounds) and wiped out that division.”