Bring on Terence Crawford. Jeff Horn last night set up a multimillion-dollar showdown with the undefeated American as he successfully defended his WBO welterweight title with an 11th round stoppage over Englishman Gary Corcoran at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre.
Horn didn?t have it all his own way but the longer the fight went, the stronger and more dominant he got. Then, in the 11th round with Corcoran receiving more punishment, his corner threw in the towel.
Onwards and upwards now for Horn. His next title defence is likely to be against Crawford in Las Vegas in late-April. Horn?s purse will be measured in the millions. After that, who knows. An impressive showing against Crawford will give Horn another opportunity to make his mark in the US ? last night?s fight was telecast there on ESPN.
?I knew he was coming here, I knew he had prepared … they were talking a smart game,? Horn said.
?He definitely pushed me in there. It was good to get him out of there in the end. I was just getting my timing. The whole fight I felt like it was a little bit off tonight.?
Asked about Crawford, Horn said: ?It?s a big possibility. If that is what everyone wants to see, I guess that is what is going to happen.?
Horn entered the ring with plenty of question marks over his preparation for the fight. He was forced to drop several kilograms on fight eve to make the weight, prompting Corcoran?s trainer Frank Greaves to suggest the champion?s health was being placed in jeopardy.
Horn was also sporting a small scar over his left eye following an incident in training a month ago. It is understood Horn?s camp took advice from a plastic surgeon when the incident occurred before deciding the fight would go ahead.
Regardless, some questioned the wisdom of Horn returning to the ring sporting a fresh scar that would become an obvious target for Corcoran. Horn entered the ring as a prohibitive favourite but there were plenty of nerves from the champion?s camp given what was at stake.
Horn started the busier fighter and he shaded the first round through sheer work rate The second round was a more even affair, Horn catching Corcoran with a flush right hand but the Englishman holding his own as the fight became increasingly scrappy.
Referee Benjy Esteves Junior felt obliged to pull the fighters aside early in the third round to warn them about the amount of holding. He then issued Corcoran with another warning at the end of the round after he landed a blow on the back of Horn?s head. While Esteves did his level best to keep the fighters apart, Corcoran continued to grow in confidence, his belief only amplified as he opened a cut around Horn?s left eye in the sixth round.
Corcoran continued to grow in belief but he tested Estevez?s patient at the end of the seventh round when he landed a left hand on Horn?s chin after the bell.
Horn?s trainer Glenn Rushton had predicted a stoppage in the eighth or ninth round and while that didn?t arrive, the Australian started to take control of the fight as picked apart his rival.
Horn had the crowd on their feet as he pinned Corcoran on the ropes early in the 10th round but the Englishman responded with a smile midway through the round as the tide continued to flow in favour of the champion.
The start of the 11th was delayed as the ringside doctor looked at a cut on Corcoran?s head. When the action eventually commenced, Horn continued his relentless attack and Corcoran?s corner, which had spoken with such bravado in the lead-up to the bout, threw in the towel.
Job done for Horn. Bigger fish are on the horizon..
On the undercard, young West Australian Nathaniel May produced a dazzling performance as he made it 19 wins from 20 fights with a devastating knockout of Brazilian opponent Aelio Mesquita.
May looked rattled in the third round but he rebounded by dropping the undefeated Mesquita with devastating body shots on two occasions in the fourth round.
He then did it again at the start of the fifth and the referee intervened to prevent Mesquita from suffering any more punishment. May picked up the WBO Asia-Pacific featherweight title and immediately called out IBF champion Lee Shelby.
