Jeff Horn’s juvenile features stretch into a wide proud grin ? he has four aces. He’s won, again. He always wins.
His sensei trainer Glenn Rushton peers over the pile of his now lost poker chips and nods to the media, who’ve also been lured into the game.
His boy is a winner. He always wins. He’ll win again.
When Horn steps out in front of almost 55,000 screaming fans on Sunday at Suncorp Stadium, his biggest weapon against ‘His Gloved Highness’ Manny Pacquiao won’t be his speed or iron jaw.
Horn’s secret weapon is his relationship with trainer Rushton. Article continues below You might also like
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I saw it first, left and right hand in December, when I spent a week in their camp in New Zealand. (And yes, Horn really did clean my cameraman and I out in the poker game.)
Horn was facing South African brawler Ali Funeka in Auckland. The whole thing was planned by his team.
It was Horn’s chance to impress American super-promoter Bob Arum, the man now behind Pacquiao.
After a day of shooting and with our stories filed, there was a quiet moment over dinner. We were having Italian.
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Rob Morrison spent a week in camp with Jeff Horn. (Rob Morrison)
Glenn Rushton leaned over his spaghetti and explained, “Funeka’s weakness is his recovery”.
It was THE plan.
“If he’s punching or dodging, his head sways you see. Right-right…left-left,” he moved his raised index finger like so.
“Right-right…left-left. Jeff won’t touch him in the first three rounds. He’ll watch him. He’ll watch that movement. He’ll watch that sway.
“Then in the fourth, we’ll go for him. Jeff won’t punch at the head though, he’ll punch AHEAD of the rhythm.”
Three days later, fight night. It was like watching a movie.
The person who bumped gloves was not the person I’d had the pleasure of meeting that week.
Horn is mild-mannered, polite, a little quiet, even shy.
But when he stepped into the ring, there wasn’t just something in his eye I hadn’t seen before, his entire gaze was full of something else, and whatever it was made him a monster, and I mean monster. He was ruthless.
In front of 10,000 people, in the fourth round, it happened.
Right-right
Left-left
Right-WHACK
By the sixth and two more WHACK WHACKS later, it was over. Funeka was on the floor.
Horn had acted out his well-written script, to the letter.
This Sunday, Horn must perform on the world stage, a stage that could swallow him whole with a simple misstep or a well-placed right-hook.
It’s a story most in the boxing world expect to write by the afternoon. I’m not so sure.
Horn doesn’t act, walk, talk or even look like a boxer. What he is, is a listener…a very, very good listener, who knows how to punch.
Rushton says he and Horn have a secret “ten-point plan” for Pacquiao. I have no doubt they do.
I also have no doubt Horn has the ability to execute it. In this battle, General Rushton and his well-drilled solider are a chance.
Just after lunch on Sunday, Horn will walk out to The White Stripe’s ‘Seven Nation Army’.
Suncorp Stadium will have never seen anything like it.
