Boxing
Jake Michaels, ESPN Senior Writer 6y

Jeff Horn expected to fight Terence Crawford in Las Vegas

Boxing

BRISBANE, Australia -- Jeff Horn's successful welterweight title defence has all but earned him a date in Las Vegas with America's best pound-for-pound boxer Terence Crawford.

The Australian managed to stop British challenger Gary Corcoran in the 11th round of their title fight in Brisbane on Wednesday night to improve his professional record to 18-0-1 with 11 knockouts.

Speaking post fight, Top Rank's Bob Arum said Horn's stunning rise up the boxing ranks in 2017 has caught the eye of 30-year-old Crawford, and a date for the pair's fight is likely to be confirmed imminently.

"We move on now to Terence Crawford, the mandatory contender," Arum declared. "We will be announcing the fight in the biggest arena in Las Vegas probably in April."

Crawford is a former world champion in both the lightweight and light welterweight divisions who boasts an enviable 32-0 professional record. His most recent fight was against Namibia's Julius Indongo where he floored him inside three rounds.

Nevertheless, Horn, who rose to prominence in July when he sensationally defeated 11-time world champion Manny Pacquiao at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium, believes he can cause yet another high-profile upset.

"He's someone I can definitely beat in the boxing world, I'm sure of that," Horn said when asked how he feels about facing Crawford. "I'm very confident in my ability."

Arum too believes the Queenslander can put up a strong showing in his first fight in the United States, saying anyone would be a fool to write him off against Crawford.

"Anybody that says that because of Terence's skillset Jeff doesn't have a chance is crazy," Arum said. "As far as boxing skills go I would favour Crawford but as far as strength and size are concerned you have to go with Jeff.

"Terence Crawford is one of the best fighters around. He was a lightweight champion at 135 pounds and a couple of years ago he was fighting as a lightweight. Then he became a junior welterweight and wiped out that division. It's a big jump, for a guy who started as a lightweight now to 147 pounds.

"This is going to be a very, very competitive fight and it may end up being a ring classic."

For Horn it has been a dream to fight in Las Vegas since he started boxing as a teenager and he is already relishing the prospect of taking on Crawford in the U.S.

"It's definitely exciting. From the start [fighting in the United States] is where I pictured myself," Horn said. "There is a lot to prove to a lot of Americans.

"There's always going to be the doubters and you're not going to change their mind but all I've got to do is keep winning. Hopefully that will change peoples' minds one by one."

^ Back to Top ^