Horn defends title against Crawford

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Terence Crawford doesn't think moving up in weight will be an issue.

Jeff Horn doesn't think fighting thousands of miles away from his native Australia matters much, either.

The two unbeaten fighters meet Saturday night for Horn's welterweight title in a fight that offers an intriguing matchup of brawler versus boxer in a division that is suddenly getting a lot of attention in boxing.

The fight is significant for one other thing — it marks the first attempt to get boxing fans to buy ESPN's new $4.99 a month app so they can watch the bout from the MGM Grand Garden.

"It's the future, get used to it," promoter Bob Arum said. "Jeff Horn and Terence Crawford will go down in history for the fight that pioneered this changeover in direction to consumer sports

Horn became a star of sorts thanks to his win last year over Manny Pacquiao before a packed crowd in an outdoor stadium in Brisbane. Not only did Horn pull off an upset — and highly disputed — win, but he did it in prime time on ESPN in the U.S. on a Saturday night as part of a new deal between Arum's Top Rank Promotions and the cable sports giant.

That was heralded as a way to bring boxing back to the masses, and it worked. The audience peaked at 4.4 million viewers, the most for boxing on cable TV in more than a decade.

But the business model has shifted, with ESPN is looking for top fights to help convince people to sign up for the new app. So Horn agreed to a good payday to fight away from the comfort of home against a fighter some consider the top pound-for-pound boxer in the game. entertainment."