Australian challenger Jeff Horn has made a massive blunder by not training against superior sparring partners in the United States in preparation for Sundayâs title fight, Manny Pacquiaoâs team says.
The legendary 38-year-old Filipino, one of the greatest fighters of his generation, is widely tipped to overcome the unbeaten Horn in front of an expected 50,000 people at Brisbaneâs Suncorp Stadium.
Pacquiaoâs Australian strength and conditioning coach Justin Fortune said Thursday the âFighting Schoolteacherâ hasnât done his homework and will be outclassed by the master eight-weight world champion.
âManny is one of the greats and Jeff Horn is in a different league,â former heavyweight Fortune told reporters.
âIf Manny puts his mind to it he destroys anybody in the world. Heâs busted up some of the greats. Jeff Horn is the guy to knock out and weâre in the hurt business.â
Fortune, who once fought against Lennox Lewis, said Horn should have spent eight weeks in America against the best available sparring partners.
âThen you might have given him a real shot if heâd been training with A-grade guys all the time,â he said.
âInstead heâs been using (Filipino) Czar Amonsot as a sparring partner and he is nowhere near as fast as Manny.
âHorn wonât know what hit him because Manny is that quick.â
Inexperienced Horn
Fortune said he gave Horn no chance of causing a major boilover against the warrior known as âPac Manâ.
âPeople say âwell, Manny hasnât knocked anyone out in yearsâ but these are AAA guys, with pro-level experience, current or former world champions,â Fortune said.
âThis guy (Horn) has nowhere near the experience at all. He hasnât walked out in front of 50,000 people, ever.
âNerves take a lot out of you when you fight. Itâs actually terrible, thereâs nothing you can do about it, happens to all of us.
âMannyâs done it, heâs used to it, itâs no big deal. Jeffâs not. I donât think theyâve realised that.â
Philippine boxer Manny Pacquiao (L) and Australian challenger Jeff Horn
Horn defended his training strategy, saying he was more than happy using Amonsot, who is ranked number three with the World Boxing Association at junior welterweight (140lb, 63kg).
âItâs very hard for anyone to copy the style of Pacquiao but we got the closest thing out there that we could,â Horn said.
âIâve definitely sparred the best I ever have for this preparation and Iâm really happy with the rounds Czar gave me.â
Horn said while Pacquiao might be faster than him, he had an awkward style that the Filipino has not faced before.
âMy style will give him problems and itâs a matter of timing him so that I can make him miss and land my hard shots,â he said.
Pacquiao (59-6-2, 38 knockouts) is one of the greats, while Horn, 29, has won 16 of his 17 bouts with one draw.
Pacquiao, who briefly retired last year before making a successful comeback against Jessie Vargas in November, has not stopped an opponent since his 12th round TKO of Miguel Cotto in 2009.
Trainer Freddie Roach has suggested Sundayâs fight is a stepping stone for Pacquiao to secure a rematch with American rival Floyd Mayweather, who outpointed the Filipino in the âFight of the Centuryâ two years ago.
Provided by AFP Sport