Before fighting Pacquiao, Jeff Horn must conquer the scales

BRISBANE, Australia – Before fighting Manny Pacquiao, Jeff Horn must first beat the scales.

The unbeaten welterweight contender said Thursday, June 29, that he’s sitting at 70.3 kilograms, or 155 pounds, with two days to go and 8 pounds to lose before Saturday’s weigh-in for his WBO welterweight title fight. The fight will take place the following morning, Sunday, July 2, at Suncorp Stadium.

Horn (16-0-1, 11 knockouts) didn’t seem concerned however, saying he was used to cutting down from 71 kilograms at this point in fight week, and the 29-year-old isn’t expecting any complications.

“I’m doing it a lot better this time. I’m walking probably at 70.3 kilos at the moment so I’ve only got 3 or 4 kilos to lose to make weight. It’s a lot easier than 5,” said Horn at Thursday’s public workout in Brisbane City Center, which was attended by a couple hundred fans at noontime.

“This is kind of what I got to turn some of my last fights, let alone a press conference in the city,” says Horn, the World Boxing Organization’s number two contender

Horn says his course of action will include a training session on Friday night, then waking up the morning of the weigh-in to drop a few more pounds in a steam room.

Pacquiao, as one of the smallest welterweights of note, has no such issues cutting pounds to make the 147-pound limit. Horn, like virtually all recent opponents, appeared larger than Pacquiao during their staredown at Wednesday’s press conference. 

“All I’m thinking about is making weight; that’s the next challenge ahead of me. After that on Saturday morning that’s when the focus will be completely on the fight with Manny Pacquiao,” said Horn.

“I’m gonna feel strong, and I’m gonna feel bigger than Manny because I know he’s probably sitting around the weight. Hopefully that’s an advantage for me.

“If I can land the right shot on Manny Pacquiao, he will go to sleep. I don’t say that disrespectfully as in I’m definitely going to knock Manny Pacquiao out, but if I land that shot, he’s gonna go down.”

Horn, a native of the city and a Bachelor of Education graduate at Griffith University hopes to do more than walk away with the WBO title. He hopes a win in what will be the most-watched boxing fight in Australian history will bring Brisbane out of the shadows of better known cities in Australia.

“Hopefully we get a lot more traction in Brisbane and people are thinking of Brisbane rather than Melbourne or Sydney sometimes,” said Horn. – Rappler.com