While his promoters are scampering to look for the money needed to finance his April 23 fight with Manny Pacquiao, unbeaten Australian Jeff Horn is already in training mode and eager to go to battle.
Horn told the Sydney Morning Herald over the weekend that Pacquiao will be in for a rough night.
Although Horn acknowledges and is awed by Pacquiao’s feats, the 28-year-old from Brisbane is positive he is right on track for a victory.
“Manny has done it in so many weight divisions. But he hasn’t been able to knock out guys my size for quite a while, and that gives me an advantage,” said Horn, who has a 16-0-1 win-loss-draw card with 11 KOs.
This week, New Zealand-based Duco Promotions, which struck a deal with Bob Arum’s Top Rank Inc. during a recent meeting in Las Vegas, is set to meet up with representatives of the state government of Queensland and possibly those of New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia.
If a deal isn’t reached, the fight can take place outside Australian soil with the United Arab Emirates as alternate venue.
Pacquiao has expressed willingness to defend his World Boxing Organization welter crown against Horn but won’t settle for crumbs.
Earlier, Pacquiao’s camp rejected a $5-million purse with Canadian adviser Mike Koncz sounding insulted by the cheap offer.
Arum, however, insists that the Australian media’s reported $5-million paycheck is not accurate, adding that he is the one responsible for giving Pacquiao’s purse being his exclusive promoter.