Jeff Horn has the title and the bank balance. Now it is about respect. Horn will fight unbeaten American Terence Crawford at the MGM Grand Casino in Las Vegas on Sunday looking for the sort of win that will make America sit up and take notice.
By rights, they should have done so after he upset Filipino legend Manny Pacquiao in Brisbane last year to claim the WBO welterweight belt.
Instead, the gravitas of that victory was eroded to a large extent by the backlash afterwards, led by prominent US commentator Teddy Atlas, who claimed Pacquiao had been robbed.
In the aftermath, Horn has had to endure being written off as a legitimate contender by some of the division?s biggest names. A win over Crawford would change that.
?It?s a lot about respect as well,? Horn said. ?I know what I can do in the ring. When they?re saying no one is worrying about Jeff Horn out there it is disrespectful.
?I want to keep winning and keep having the big fights to change these people?s minds.
?You never know ? some of them saying it … I might have to (fight) to shut them up a bit.
?You want to prove them wrong and prove to yourself that you can do it. All the people that doubted I won the Pacquiao fight, if I end up beating Crawford, especially if I knocked him out, I think I would gain a heap of respect over there and a heap more fans. That?s the end game. If I can manage to get a couple of those big pay days, I am not going to be sticking around in the fight game forever.?
The lead-in to the fight with Crawford has been an incendiary affair. Horn has kept his distance, leaving his trainer Glenn Rushton and promoter Dean Lonergan to lob grenades in the direction of the unbeaten American and his trainer Brian McIntyre.
The pair will come face-to-face today in the pre-fight press conference before the weigh-in is conducted tomorrow. They held a teleconference yesterday where Horn spoke about the opportunity to build his reputation on the back of a victory over Crawford.
?I was always thinking that I was going to go to America anyway and have a fight, so why not now?? Horn said.
?It?s not like we were trying to stay in just Australia. We know we need to fight all around the world to build my reputation. It has always been a dream to come over to America to fight in one of these massive casinos in Las Vegas and put on a massive show.
?It has definitely been a hard road to get to where I am. I had to fight very hard. The mindset is that I am coming in as an underdog even though I am a world champion.??
Horn has steered clear of sledging his opponent. ?It?s not my style to do that,? he said.
?Maybe it is not Terence?s either. Our trainers are doing a good job of that.?
