Jeff Horn says he’ll be in no rush to beat Anthony Mundine
A STRONGER, fitter Jeff Horn has predicted he will beat Anthony Mundine “quite comfortably” but has warned fans hoping for a quick knockout that he is prepared to bide his time.
Boxing/MMA
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A STRONGER, fitter Jeff Horn has predicted he will beat Anthony Mundine “quite comfortably” but has warned fans hoping for a quick knockout that he is prepared to bide his time.
The Horn-Mundine clash has been confirmed for Suncorp Stadium on Friday night, November 30, with the ground being readied for a crowd of 30,000 in an event tipped to put an extra $5 million into the state’s economy.
Horn’s reign as WBO welterweight champion ended at the hands of Terrence Crawford in a brutal Las Vegas bout in June, when the Brisbane-based fighter had to lose several kilos to make the weight.
The agreed weight of 71kg for this fight is a more comfortable fit for “The Hornet”, with Mundine the one who has to go through the pain barrier this time.
“I will be sitting 3-4kg heavier just walking around normally than what I was going into the Vegas fight. I will be able to walk around at my normal mid-70 weight and then cut down a couple of kilos going into the fight,” Horn said.
“Already coming back from Vegas and hitting the bag at the weight I am now, I feel like the power has gone up significantly.
“Because I don’t have to cut as much weight, I can last longer in there, because my fitness won’t be impacted from having to lose weight the day before.”
Promoter Dean Lonergan has tipped Horn to deliver a beating to Mundine that “a lot of Australian sport fans will enjoy seeing” but Horn is wary of going for a quick kill.
“If I do box Mundine I should win on points quite comfortably,” Horn said.
“A lot of people will be expecting me to finish him early and go for the knockout. The pressure with that is if you do look for it too much and it doesn’t come, you can look scrappy and messy.”
In addition to the significant financial windfall the Mundine clash brings, Horn is also aware his performance on November 30 will go a long way to determining where his career heads next, given how soundly he was beaten by Crawford.
“To get stopped in my last fight controversially, it might have been a bit early for the ref to jump in and stop that fight, it would be good to come back and get a knockout and get my confidence up against Mundine,” he said.
Horn, who shot to fame with his memorable win over Manny Pacquiao at Suncorp Stadium last year, said it was a dream come true to be part of another blockbuster at the venue.
“This is where I live, this is where I had the biggest career (moment) of my life,” he said. “There’s something about Suncorp. The feeling of it makes me feel like I’m at home. Having the support of the crowd behind me at a stadium like this will be another dream come true.”
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