Horn says he has plan to beat Pacquiao
BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA » While Manny Pacquiao has been out running along the river and attracting attention downtown since arriving on a chartered flight with a huge entourage, Jeff Horn has been preparing for their WBO welterweight world title bout in the quiet, outer suburbs.
It’s a contrast that suits the 29-year-old former Australian schoolteacher, who is doing everything possible to keep grounded ahead of Sunday’s “Battle of Brisbane” against Pacquiao, an 11-time world titlist in eight divisions.
An Olympic quarterfinalist at the 2012 London Games, Horn has built a 16-0-1 record with 11 knockouts since turning pro in 2013. Top Rank promoter Bob Arum saw him take down South African veteran
Ali Funeka on the undercard of heavyweight Joseph Parker’s WBO world title fight in New Zealand last December and decided Horn was worthy of a shot at the great Pacquiao.
And so with ESPN televising the fight in the United States, and up to 55,000 fans expected at Suncorp Stadium, Horn was asked how he would describe himself to those who may know little of him except that he’s taking on Pacquiao.
“I guess I’m a real competitor. I try and treat people the way I like to be treated,” he said. “I’m going to get in there hard. I’ve trained hard for this fight. I’m going to give Manny Pacquiao a really
hard fight.”
Pacquiao has been in this position plenty of times since turning pro in 1995 and has a 59-6-2 record with 38 knockouts. He has had two wins — on points against Jessie Vargas and Tim Bradley — since his loss to Floyd Mayweather in April 2015 in a bout that generated a world record pay-per-view audience.
Horn reckons his last fight was in front of 1,500 people, and jokes “there’s not much difference in the crowd size, is there?”
“Where I’ve fought before has been in a small location, so the crowd seems louder than it is — kind of echoes in the room,” he said. “But to be in a stadium like Suncorp, the Cauldron, who knows. I’ve never been in a situation like that. The more pressure that’s on me for a fight, the better I perform.”