Boxing champ Jeff Horn was pleasantly shocked to receive a stunning new diamond ring

Jeff Horn was presented with an 18 karat white gold ring sprinkled with more than 150 tiny diamonds and rubies last night at the Christmas party IT recruiting firm Recon Solutions

Illustration of Jeff Horn by Brett Lethbridge

BRISBANE boxing star Jeff Horn got a heck of a surprise last night.

The reigning WBO world welterweight champion was pleasantly shocked to receive a stunning new diamond ring from one his key backers, headhunter Steve Scanlan.

Scanlan presented the mild-mannered schoolteacher with an 18 karat white gold piece of jewellery sprinkled with more than 150 tiny diamonds and rubies at the Christmas party for his IT recruiting firm Recon Solutions.

Worth the price of a new car, the ring was made over the past three months by Xennox Diamonds boss Karl Schwan-tes, who joined the bash way up on the 39th level of Riparian Plaza.

Scanlan told City Beat yesterday that he wanted Horn to have something a bit more portable than the world champion belt he earned in July, when he defeated then-champion Manny Pacquiao in a shock upset at Suncorp Stadium.

“I just thought it would be nice to get this thing made for him that is smaller than the belt that could remind him constantly of his achievement,’’ he said.

“How cool will that be for the rest of his life?’’

Spied among the 150-strong crowd were bizoids Peter Ward, Vince McFarlane, Dave McAdam and John Prickett, as well as former rugby league star Dave Shillington and ex-ballet dancer Rachael Walsh.

As much as Horn may love the ring, he’ll have to take it off next Wednesday night when he defends his title against challenger Gary “Hellraiser’’ Corcoran at Brisbane’s convention centre.

If Horn beats the scrappy Pom as expected, he goes on to a much tougher challenge next April in Las Vegas.

He’ll face the undefeated Terence Crawford, who many consider one of the top fighters in the world.

It’s probably no accident that Crawford will be ringside for the Horn-Corcoran match.

BRAVE NEW WORLD

THE RACQ has already branched out into banking this year, adding to its longstanding motoring and insurance businesses.

Now it’s expanded in to the brave new world of artificial intelligence and robotics, one of the world’s fastest-growing sectors.

The group revealed this week it has taken a 30 per cent stake in Brisbane startup tech outfit Blackbook.ai. which only launched in January.

RACQ chief information officer Greg Booker wouldn’t reveal how much had been ploughed in to the investment. But he said RACQ had been looking to partner with an entrepreneurial group to tap in to the latest in automation, cyber security and emerging technologies.

“A key driver for us is to have access to these skills,’’ Booker told us yesterday.

As part of the tie up, four RACQ tech staffers will rotate through Blackbook in 12-month shifts to boost their skill sets.

That should help Booker deal with his perpetual worry about cyber crime, a looming threat that he admits keeps him awake at night.

CLEM’S LEGACY

CLEM Jones may be gone but he’s not forgotten.

The former Brisbane Lord Mayor passed away 10 years ago this month but his estate has donated more than $25 million since then for medical research and a raft of other worthy causes.

One of the recipients of that largesse is Professor Alan Mackay-Sim, who was named 2017 Australian of the Year for his groundbreaking research work on stem cells and spinal cord injuries.

The walrus-moustached Mackay-Sim dropped in to Tattersall’s Club in Brisbane yesterday to deliver the annual Clem Jones Oration, sponsored by Clem’s old Lions Club.

Among those taking it all in over lunch were philanthropic bizoids Bob Bryan, Everald Compton and Paul Taylor, along with such well-known identities as Dimity Dornan, Peter Geroff and Bruce Atterton-Evans.