No fairytale ending to Horn’s latest story

THE script that everyone in this part of the world wanted to see ended with the quiet, respectful, well-mannered schoolteacher knocking out the brash, loud-mouthed Yank. It soon became evident that wasn’t going to happen, writes Mike Colman.

Jeff Horn goes down to Terence Crawford at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Picture: Steve Marcus/Getty Images/AFP

OH well. At least he got to meet Mark Wahlberg.

Jeff Horn announced before yesterday’s WBO world welterweight title fight in Las Vegas that nothing fazes him.

“My wife Jo keeps getting frustrated every time we go overseas and see all these amazing things,” he said on Main Event. “Everyone goes, ‘whoa, look at that’, and I say, ‘Yeah, I’ve seen it before on TV’.”

That was the theme of the show beamed live into tens of thousands of pubs, clubs and homes around Australia, as Jeff prepared to climb into the ring with Terence “Bud” Crawford.

“You can take the kid out of Acacia Ridge, but you can’t take Acacia Ridge out of the kid …”

As was said more than once, it was like a film script. The bullied schoolboy from MacGregor State High takes up boxing to gain self-esteem.

He becomes a teacher, marries his childhood sweetheart, goes to the Olympics, beats one of boxing’s all-time greats in front of 51,000 fans, then heads to Sin City to take on a former gangbanger from the rough part of Omaha, Nebraska.

Throughout the day it just got better and better, in front of our very eyes.

We heard how Jeff and his family were shunted to rooms so small they had to go outside to change their expressions, let alone baby Isabelle’s nappies. Crawford, on the other hand, was holed up in a three-storey, five-bedroom apartment with a pool table.

Jeff was the champion, Crawford the challenger, but all the posters said Crawford vs Horn.

Somehow Jeff’s camp got lumbered with a set of dodgy scales, and let’s not even mention those horsehair gloves. It had almost got to the stage that when the boxers’ hands were being taped you expected Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to pop her head over the top to make sure there wasn’t any funny business going on.

Not that the pre-fight mind-games worried Jeff.

As his trainer Glenn Rushton put it, “you don’t get knocked over by a left psyche or a right psyche.”

When the fighters arrived at the arena, Crawford was in a garish purple and white tracksuit, baseball cap and headphones, bopping away to Omaha rap. Jeff was holding Jo’s hand, dressed in a T-shirt, pair of khaki shorts, white socks and joggers. He could have been taking his class on an excursion.

“Hurry up kids, everyone on the bus …”

And then Mark Wahlberg arrived.

Jeff Horn speaks with Mark Wahlberg.

“That was awesome,” said Jo. “I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s Mark Wahlberg’. He’s Jeffrey’s idol.”

Hopefully a scriptwriter was getting it all down.

Trouble was, the script that everyone in this part of the world wanted to see ended with the quiet, respectful, well-mannered schoolteacher knocking out the brash, loud-mouthed Yank.

And it soon became evident that wasn’t going to happen. Crawford was just too good. One of the all-time greats, six-time world champion Roy Jones Jr, was realistic in his assessment of Jeff’s chances a few minutes before the fight.

“He’s here in the gambling city. He has to take a gamble.”

He did, but his number never came up. The one winning all the free spins was Crawford.

“This is like a sparring session,” said commentator Colonel Bob Sheridan in the fourth round. “Crawford is bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. He’s really enjoying it.”

In the fifth, Colonel Bob said Crawford had thrown Jeff backwards with, “as little respect as anyone has shown him all week”.

Jeff Horn goes down to Terence Crawford at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Picture: Steve Marcus/Getty Images/AFP

At the end of the eighth Sheridan said, “It’s looking academic now.” His Australian co-commentator, former world champion Barry Michael, went further. “It’s looking terrible.”

And then it was over. Well, maybe not quite over.

“I can keep going, I can rebuild,” Jeff said.

Barry Michael believes if he goes up a weight division to light-middleweight, Jeff could win another world title.

There’s even talk he should fight Anthony Mundine, and you can rest assured there will be plenty of people who will think that is a great idea.

Jeff had so many new friends jump on his coat-tails after the Manny Pacquiao fight it’s a wonder he could climb through the ropes at the MGM Grand.

Hopefully the only ones he listens to are Jo and Isabelle. You only had to watch the prelim fights yesterday to see what a cruel game boxing can be. One commentator said of Latino welterweight contender Antonio Moran midway through his bout, “He’s looks like he’s been through a meat grinder”.

The same commentator was impressed with the ability of Moran’s opponent Jose “Sniper” Pedroza to “zero in with that body shot to the spleen”. Is that really how we want this script to end?

Come on.

He’s been world champion, he’s beaten Manny Pacquiao and made enough money to buy a nice house. He’s even met Mark Wahlberg. How much better can it get?