Short Vegas lead-up no issue for welterweight champ Horn

World Boxing Organization welterweight champion Jeff Horn on Saturday brushed aside any doubts surrounding a short lead-up to his title defense in Vegas next month, with the Australian confident of a win in his first US fight.

Horn will take on undefeated American Terence Crawford in Las Vegas on April 14, his promoters announced this week.

The 30- year- old Horn, who upset Philippine boxing hero Manny Pacquiao to take the title last July, says despite the short official notice he has been preparing for the Vegas fight for some time.

“I’ve been training very hard for this fight on this date,” he told reporters in his hometown of Brisbane.

“Terence is a great fighter, a great counterfighter, he’s fast, he’s powerful but he hasn’t fought anyone like me before, and I think I’ve got what it takes to win,” he said.

Horn defended his title in December with an 11th round technical knockout win over English challenger Gary Corcoran.

The Aussie’s camp has been floating a rematch with Pacquiao since taking the title last year.

His promoters said negotiations for the upcoming April fight had dragged due to uncertainty over whether the Philippine champion would join the card in a different fight in Vegas.

“I don’t think Pacquiao was too happy about hearing he could have been possibly named as the undercard for the fight — which even though he wouldn’t have been, it would have been a co-main event,” Horn said.

“But Pacquiao likes throwing things around, we have no idea what he is doing and that’s fine if he doesn’t want to be on the card.”

Horn will go in as underdog against Crawford, who remains unbeaten from 32 bouts and will move up from the junior welterweight division to welterweight to challenge the Australian.

“We are arriving (in Vegas) ten days before (the fight),” Horn said.“A lot of people say that is too short, but I think I have got plenty of time to acclimatize and get ready.”

“We want to get our main sparring done before we get over there, so we are prepared for that fight before we even get there,” he added.