IT headhunter Steve Scanlan was Jeff Horn’s first sponsor but he’s now backing rival Tim Tszyu
He was Jeff Horn’s first backer, but now this wealthy IT headhunter is sponsoring Horn’s opponent in this month’s epic clash in Townsville.
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SWITCHING SIDES
You might call it a supremely ironic twist.
Just months after his stunning upset win over then-world champion Manny Pacquiao, Brisbane boxing legend Jeff Horn received the ultimate memento to remember his victory at Suncorp Stadium.
It was an 18-karat white gold ring sprinkled with more than 150 tiny diamonds and rubies that took Xennox Diamonds boss Karl Schwantes about three months to make.
Wealthy IT industry headhunter Steve Scanlan forked out about $15,000 for the piece of jewellery and presented it to a pleasantly shocked Horn at a packed holiday party way up on the 39th level of Riparian Plaza in late 2017.
The surprise gift capped a remarkable bond between the two gents, which saw Scanlan (and his then-company Recon Solutions) become Horn’s first sponsor in 2013 and a close confidante of the mild-mannered former schoolteacher.
Scanlan ultimately splashed out more than $600,000 on Horn, allowing him to give up teaching to focus on training. He even took Horn to Las Vegas to watch a Floyd Mayweather bout where tickets cost $15,000 a pop.
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“I was there when no one else wanted him. It was us that enabled him to do so much,’’ said Scanlan, a former Brisbane Young Entrepreneur of the Year winner.
But when Horn enters the arena in Townsville on August 26 to take on rising star Tim Tszyu, Scanlan will be ringside and barracking for his opponent. The winner has a shot at a world title.
Scanlan tells City Beat that he ended his sponsorship of Horn after the absurdly brief take-down of Anthony Mundine in 2018, saying the two drifted apart once Horn became famous.
“We were just another number. Jeff had no time for us. Maybe we became more of a burden,’’ he said.
Amazingly, at one point Scanlan, now boss of recruitment outfit Technology People, sponsored both boxers at the same time. He’s been a main backer of Tszyu since 2017.
Scanlan insists that he bears no ill will towards Horn and, indeed, said they still socialise. So part of him will be fearful when the bell rings and the two fighters start punishing one another.
“I’m dreading the moment,’’ he said.
ALL THAT GLITTERS
Gold reached a record high above $US2000 per ounce on Wednesday thanks to investor hunger for a safe haven during unstable times.
Australia remains the world’s biggest producer and is expected to churn out 372 tonnes of the lovely yellow stuff in the current financial year, with little disruption expected from the pandemic.
Growing demand and falling supply over the next five years are expected to keep gold prices high, according to a new report from market analysts at IBISWorld.
PICTURE THIS
Is this supposed to make them feel better or to soften the blow?
About 3000 Virgin Australia staff learned on Wednesday that they no longer have a job at the stricken Brisbane-based carrier as it reboots itself under new ownership.
But hey, these workers—representing around a third of the workforce—will walk out the door with a special photo signed by Virgin head honcho Sir Richard Branson and the airline’s boss, Paul Scurrah.
We are not making this us. Talk about tone-deaf symbolism!
Meanwhile, further evidence has emerged (in case we needed any) about the headwinds facing the travel industry.
Travel agency group Helloworld revealed on Wednesday its latest capital raising effort had flamed out.
The company managed to rustle up just $790,000 from retail investors, far short of its $5.4m target. The take-up rate amounted to less than 18 per cent.
EKKA BREKKIE
Any normal year would see more than 800 guests converge on Brisbane’s RNA Showgrounds at the crack of dawn Thursday for the Rural Press Club’s annual Ekka breakfast.
But this year, being far from normal and with no Ekka, that same crowd will log on to a Zoom meeting to hear from Marty Smith, head of peak US lobby outfit the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.
The group is a potent force in Washington D.C., where it twists arms on behalf of more than a million farmers and ranchers.
Smith, who works as both a rancher and lawyer in north Florida, runs a cow-calf operation that’s been continually trading since 1852.
No surprise that he’s expected to talk about the horrific impacts of COVID-19 on the sector, which include processing plant shutdowns.
What does all this mean for Australia? Viewers will find out from the comfort of their home offices.
WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED
In the age of Uber Eats, it was only a matter of time.
Entrepreneur Carl Popovic has launched a new business that aims to have your chemist script issued, filled and delivered within two hours for less than $8.
He’s vowing that his start-up, trading as eDelivery, will revolutionise the industry and make lining up at the pharmacy a thing of the past.
“The technology is a world-first,’’ Popovic told us.
“It is superfast. From the moment the customer’s order is placed it takes two hours to have it delivered to their doorstep by our network of over 1000 fully accredited drivers.
“It’s on-demand, it’s cost-effective, it’s efficient, it’s compliant. It basically ticks all of the boxes.’’
Sounds like just what the doctor would order in this pandemic-focused moment, when safety and convenience are at a premium.
DIGGING DEEP
The big end of town has dug deep, forking out more than $150m since February for relief efforts to combat coronavirus.
A cynic might say it amounts to little more than a rounding error on their bottom lines but it’s better than nothing, right?
We learned on Wednesday that the bulk of the dough came from mining giants BHP, Rio Tinto and Newcrest. But Suncorp also got a shout out among the 22 corporates, tipping in $1 million.
BHP, which generated a $US8.3bn net profit in 2019, kicked in the most, with a $50m contribution.
“We are stepping up in establishing the Vital Resources Fund, which will provide support in a range of areas such as health services and resilience building during this difficult time,’’ BHP boss Mike Henry said.
The fund will focus on aid to regional Australian communities in BHP’s areas of operation, including Queensland of course. It includes support for health and community services, as well as mental health networks.