Australian boxer Jeff Horn trains in front of the public in a mall in Brisbane, Australia, Thursday, June 29, 2017. Horn is preparing for his WBO welterweight world title bout against Filipino Manny Pacquiao on Sunday, July 2. (AP Photo/John Pye)
BRISBANE, Australia—It’s Jeff Horn’s camp, not Team Pacquiao, which has been remiss in preparing for “Battle of Brisbane.”
With the soldout tussle for the World Boxing Organization welterweight tussle between Manny Pacquiao and Jeff Horn less than two days away, the Australian challenger faces the grim prospect of not making weight.
According to local reports, Horn woke up at a heavy 69.9 kilos on Friday, still seven pounds away from the 147-lb limit.
READ: Weighing game: Horn still over 7 pounds overweight for battle
The Inquirer had earlier reported that Horn weighed 70.3kg Thursday, which means that the 29-year-old was only able to shed a negligible 0.4 kg overnight.
It’s for this reason that Horn is forced to starve himself. He’s only taken sips of water since Thursday and will eat only salad Friday night.
To compound matters, Horn will have to spend some more rounds at the gym with sweat suits in a frantic effort to meet the 66.7kg cutoff.
READ: #InquirerSeven: Things to know about Jeff Horn
Hints of Horn’s struggle with the weights surfaced Tuesday, when he admitted during his media workout at Strettong BoxingGym, that he was between 71 to 72 kg.
Though chief trainer Glenn Rushton strength and conditioning coach Dundee Kim said Horn’s weight poses no concern during the press conference Wednesday, the challenger now faces the prospect of stepping into the scales dehydrated.
That would belie their claims that Horn is in his best form ever.