Jeff Horn drives a Toyota Camry and has a home in the modest Brisbane suburb of Algester, where the median house price is about $500,000. He still has a mortgage, although he plans to pay it off with the pay cheque from his fight against Filipino legend Manny Pacquiao at Suncorp Stadium tomorrow afternoon.
Horn has the world at his feet. Should he beat Pacquiao, his future his paved with gold. As for how golden, he only has to look at the bloke standing in the opposite corner.
Pacquiao?s holiday home in Manila, which is worth about $18 million, is located in a gated community protected by guards with machine guns. He has a fleet of cars, four chefs, eight maids and 10 fulltime security.
Horn doesn?t own his own home. Pacquiao has so much money, he has spent millions building homes for others. If Horn has his way, things are about to change.
?Especially the bank statement at the end of the year,? Horn said.
?I have tried to not think about what is going to happen after this. I already feel like my life has changed leading up to this. Maybe it won?t stop. I am hoping if I can get through this fight and have a good win, definitely I am not going to have to worry about any of that stuff any more.
?As everybody else does, I still have a mortgage on the house. Hopefully it will be paid off by the end of this.?
As for the prospect of cracking the lucrative American market and possibly unifying the welterweight title, Horn said: ?It is a massive market over there, especially with Keith Thurman and all the guys who have the world titles.
?If I can unify, that is a big payday there. All I think about is setting up the family and the future. I want (wife) Jo to be happy and eventually when we have kids for them to be happy. It is very tempting but I have to get through this one first. There is a guy in front of me, Manny Pacquiao, who is a legend of the sport.?
A legend who continues to frustrate with his apparently lackadaisical attitude to the fight. Pacquiao and Horn were special guests at a luncheon yesterday at the Brisbane Exhibition and Convention Centre which was attended by, among others, legendary four-time world champion Roberto Duran, famously dubbed ?Hands of Stone? for his devastating punching power.
Australia?s own Jeff Fenech was also there along with ring announcer Michael Buffer and WBO heavyweight champion Joseph Parker. Pacquiao arrived late and left early. After making his way straight onto stage, he gave a 45-second speech in which he acknowledged Duran, shook some hands, and headed for the exit. He has frustrated and entertained in equal supply during his fleeting visit to Australia. His attitude and behaviour have given rise to suggestions he has underprepared for the fight. If he has, a shock could be looming. Horn?s trainer Glenn Rushton certainly exudes confidence, his belief enhanced by a sense of deja vu at the events that are unfolding.
Long before he met Horn, Rushton had a dream that he would train a world champion.
?The vision both Jeff and I have shared for a long time ? I had a very, very vivid dream many years ago about what would happen,? Rushton said.
?It didn?t grow on me straight at the start but within 12-18 months I started to feel something incredibly strong there and felt greatness within Jeff.
?I will go into it more at a later time. I saw things. I am very, very confident with a lot of things that would lead to this fight and this happening ? I visualised very clearly Jeff Horn fighting at Suncorp Stadium in front of a full house. I felt something special with Jeff. Sometimes you sense greatness. It feels like this is where we are meant to be.?
Horn arrived at yesterday?s luncheon on track to easily make the 66.68kg weight limit for the fight. Recent testing suggests he has lost fat and added muscle over the course of this preparation. His opponent and his camp have treated Horn with disdain over the past week. They have predicted a short fight ending with the Queenslander suffering the first defeat of his professional career.
While a flood of money has come for Horn on home soil, most overseas experts also expect the Queenslander to fall. They have questioned his credentials en masse. Even with Pacquiao in the twilight of his career, the boxing cognoscenti are predicting a relatively simple win for the Filipino legend. Horn has other ideas.
?They think it could be a short fight,? Horn said. ?If Manny Pacquiao comes out all guns blazing there is a chance he could get knocked out as well. I definitely don?t punch soft out there. Hopefully shocks will happen.?
