BRISBANE, Australia -- Jeff Horn believes his ninth round survival against Manny Pacquiao in July has helped him become an even better fighter.
The Queenslander was on the verge of being knocked out by the Filipino when he copped a wave of punches without returning fire late in their bout at Suncorp Stadium; so brutal was the assault that referee Mark Nelson warned Horn at the end of the ninth round that he would stop the fight if the Australian didn't show anything in the 10th. However, Horn responded and went on to record one of the biggest upsets in recent boxing history and sensationally snatch the WBO welterweight belt from the 11-time champion.
Ahead of his title defence against Gary Corcoran (17-1-0), Horn says he has taken a lot of confidence from that pivotal moment in his career and doesn't expect the gruelling encounter to weigh negatively on him come Wednesday night.
"It showed me that when I got into a real hole, where I had got hit and got hurt, I was able to come back and fight even stronger to the end," Horn said. "I've come back stronger from that hard road and I'm expecting to use that improvement in this fight.
"I don't think [I am still recovering from Pacquiao]. I showed straight away that I came back from it and won the next three rounds. I feel very fit for this fight."
Horn's trainer, Glenn Rushton, echoed those sentiments, even claiming his fighter's preparation had been better than five months ago for his maiden title fight against Pacquiao.
"Our No. 1 mantra is training comes first," Rushton said. "We have not dropped the ball, we have remained focused. If anything, Jeff Horn is fitter for this fight than he was against Manny Pacquiao."
Horn, 29, has been battling to make weight ahead of Tuesday's weigh-in, and he must be below 66.68kg by 2pm (AEST) tomorrow. He still has 4kg to lose in less than 24 hours, but he doesn't believe there's cause for concern.
"I will make weight this time comfortably," said Horn. "I woke up this morning at 70.4kgs so I don't have as much to lose as I thought.
"I was a little bit concerned a couple of weeks back about how we were looking, but I'm feeling a lot more comfortable now so hopefully it shouldn't be an issue."
Horn also said that he was taken aback by Corcoran's recent comments about biting. The challenger claimed he would bite Horn if the Australian attempted any dirty tactics to gain an unfair advantage.
"It's a bit frightening when I hear about the biting," he said. "He hasn't done it before in the past so hopefully he doesn't this time. I'd like to be able to hear after this fight."