Horn ready to lock horns with Pacquiao

Who’s afraid of trading punches with Manny Pacquiao?

Certainly not Jeff Horn.

The 29-year-old Australian, a huge underdog when he goes after Pacquiao’s World Boxing Organization middleweight crown on July 2 in Brisbane, said he’ll bring the fight to the eight-division world champion from the opening bell.

“I am [ready to trade punches],” Horn told The Sydney Morning Herald Sunday. “If that’s what I have to do, if that’s what works, I’ll stand and trade with Manny Pacquiao. I’m a pressure fighter, high-tempo from the word go.”

And despite Pacquiao’s sterling credentials—Boxer of the Decade, 11-time world champion—Horn, a former schoolteacher who totes a
16-win, 1-draw record with 11 knockouts, believes he has a chance of pulling off a shocker.

“I keep picturing myself winning,” Horn said. “I can see myself landing those big punches. I think that’s what is going to happen.”

Fighting at the 52,500-seat Suncorp Stadium in his hometown will also prop up his cause, according to Horn.

“If he’s not ready, I’m going to look 10 times better against him,” added Horn.

Horn also shrugged off the pronouncement of Pacquiao’s adviser, Michael Koncz, that Horn will be easy picking for the Fighting Senator.

“Pacquiao and his managers sound a bit confident and cocky,” Horn told nzherald.com.nz. “I hope he keeps feeling that way. I know what it’s like to underestimate an opponent.”

Pacquiao will do a promotional tour starting on April 24 in Brisbane. —ROY LUARCA