BRISBANE, Australia – Glenn Rushton, the trainer/manager of Jeff Horn, understands why there?s a large disparity between his fighter?s purse, and that of Manny Pacquiao.
Pacquiao, according to reports, is making a guaranteed $10 million to head to Horn?s hometown here and face the unbeaten contender on Sunday, July 2 at Suncorp Stadium. Horn, while getting his biggest payday to date with a reported 6-figure guarantee and bonuses depending on crowd size, ?is not gonna earn even a tenth of what Manny will earn,? says Rushton, the well-spoken guru who first put gloves on a teenaged Horn to teach him how to defend against bullies.
Pacquiao, aside from being the defending WBO welterweight champion, is one of the last remaining legends still active in the sport. His presence brings credibility to the event, even if most of the crowd on the Brisbane Broncos? home pitch will be rooting for Horn.
What Horn brings to the table is the hope of a nation eager to see one of their boys make it big in the opportunity of a lifetime. He?s an affable young man who at age 29 is in the prime of his youth. Much has been said of the local boy done right, a graduate of Griffith University who worked as a schoolteacher before representing Australia at the 2012 Olympics, and who rose to become the number two contender with the World Boxing Organization and earn a shot at Pacquiao?s title.
Pacquiao may be the champion, but the possibility of a massive upset is the reason a reported 46,000 in tickets have been sold for the fight, according to Horn?s promoter Dean Lonergan of Duco Events. If 50,000 are in the crowd as is expected, 45,000 are going for the local fighter.
Horn?s team knows a win means the beginning of greater paydays and big fights ? while Pacquiao?s trainer Freddie Roach says he might advise Pacquiao to retire if he can?t get by Horn.
?I really can?t contemplate how big it would be. I think Jeff ? win, lose or draw ? is going to become a national sporting icon,? said Lonergan, a former rugby league player from New Zealand during the 1980s.
?I think no matter what happens, this is going to be a war. I think Australians will look upon Jeff Horn as someone they?re very, very proud of.
?We fully expect him to go out there and do the business, and when he does, this will be one of the biggest things that Australia?s ever seen.?
Biggest in history
Lonergan adds that there is a rematch provision for later in the year, should Horn pull off the upset. He says the fight is already the biggest in Australian history, with the previous attendance record being the nearly 38,000 who attended the rematch between Jeff Fenech, Australia’s most popular champion, and Azumah Nelson at Melbourne in 1992.
“Just the media pick-up on this, this is truly a national event. They?ve never had a fight here of such international exposure, where it?s going to 150 countries around the world, particularly it?s going primetime to the US,” says Lonergan.
