Horn vs Corcoran – This Wednesday sees WBO world welterweight champion Jeff Horn (17-0-1) return to action in Australia as he faces Gary Corcoran (17-1) of the U.K.
Many boxing fans outside of Australia are waiting to see what Horn brings to the table in this one. Horn won the WBO belt back in July of this year when he and his sponsors lured Manny Pacquiao to fight in Brisbane. The lure of a stadium fight and a strong eight figure guarantee got the Filipino fighting legend to fight Horn and Horn won the title via unanimous decision.
Obviously, Pacquiao complained about the decision afterwards and the fight was close by most standards. Horn fought a rugged, credible fight and he went home with the WBO belt. But Pacquiao observers noted that the legendary fighter had started to slip in his late 30’s and that Horn may have faced an incomplete or faded version of Pac-man.
Horn represented Australia at the 2012 Olympic games and he joined the pro ranks with a good bit of name recognition at home. He stepped up his level of competition relatively quickly. In April of 2016 he faced former world champion and known headhunter Randall Bailey for his best win prior to the Pacquiao fight. Horn got up after a Bailey knock down in the third to stop the 42 year old in the seventh round. What awaits Horn with a win is a date with former WBO 140 pound world champion Terence Crawford, as he is moving up to the welterweight weight class. Horn and his team worked with Bob Arum and Top Rank to produce the Manny Pacquiao fight and Crawford is also under the Top Rank umbrella.
Top Rank would like to see Horn notch a win here. That would add to his credibility as they set up the showdown with Crawford. The fight is going to air on ESPN because Arum is looking to put Horn in front of as many eyes as possible. In choosing Corcoran as a first defense, the thought was to showcase Horn but the matchmakers may have chosen a fighter who mirrors Horn a little too much.
Corcoran is a similar fighter to Horn in that they both like to attack and come forward. Though both have fundamentals, both seem to prefer the brawling side of the sweet science and as such, this fight could turn into a closely fought contest. For those keeping track, the weigh-ins went down on Tuesday evening in Brisbane and Horn apparently was overweight by eight pounds the day before. Horn made the 147 pound weight limit on the official scales, coming in at 146.6 pounds put it will be interesting to see if his extreme, last day weight cut affects his stamina. Did Horn get a taste of the good life after the Pacquaio fight and is he in with a fighter who is simply hungrier than him in Corcoran?
Below are the odds for Horn-Corcoran and for several of the support bouts on the card.
