Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
Australian WBO champion Jeff Horn has the chance to send his career into another stratosphere if he can pull off the unthinkable and defeat American Terence Crawford in Las Vegas
The former Brisbane schoolteacher’s first mandatory defence of his WBO welterweight championship on Sunday (AEST) is, by far, the biggest test of his career
The MGM Grand has seen its fair share of big bouts, with the 16,000 seat arena playing host to fights like the infamous clash between Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield in 1997 and Floyd Mayweather’s history making fight against Manny Pacquiao
While Horn’s win over Pacquiao in 2017 was huge, a victory over Crawford would be even bigger especially at this point in his career
But even though Horn beat the Filipino legend in his own backyard, taking on a fighter the calibre of Crawford in Las Vegas is a completely different beast altogether
Crawford, 30, is currently at his peak and is rated by keen judges as the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world
The Nebraska native oozes class with his technical skills second to none and boasts a record without loss
Making things even harder for the Australian is the fact that Bob Arum's Top Rank promotions and sports broadcaster ESPN are totally committed to making Crawford the new face of US boxing
HOW CAN I WATCH THESE TWO BLOKES RUMBLE? If you don’t have access to pay-TV we here at Wide World of Sports have got you
The team at Wide World of Sports will be live blogging the event with coverage starting at 10am
The main cards should kick-off at around 11.30pm.You can also watch by ordering the pay-per-view from Main Event
Horn’s biggest problem come Sunday will be trying to deal with Crawford’s speed and power
The American has superior hand speed and the Queenslander could be in danger if he finds his range early
Equally, Crawford can’t engage in a rough and tumble kind of battle with Horn because of the Australian’s size
The Omaha fighter is stepping up in weight and can’t let Horn dictate the fight from the inside
If he lets Horn fight up close, then the Queenslander will do his best to bully him
Watch for Crawford to establish his range early and keep his space and use his jab to assert his dominance
Horn’s WBO welterweight title goes on the line while Crawford has a chance to sniff out another title in another division
Beating Crawford would see Horn silence several doubters in the US and result in his star rising quickly on the international scene which would culminate in bigger money fights against the likes Keith Thurman and Errol Spence Jr
If Horn loses, then it’s most likely his chances of scoring big money fights will be dashed and the rest of his fights will more than likely be confined to Australia
Horn will take home $2.5million win or lose.WHAT THEY SAID "It's already started since just getting on the scene and he's been climbing since then
I see it getting much bigger after this and with the push of ESPN and Top Rank, it's going to get much bigger
But first we have to get past Jeff Horn.He's a determined fighter and has the will to win
"-Crawford’s trainer Bryan McIntyre "Horn doesn't just have to rely on will.He's a very, very competent, skilful boxer
Yes, his style may not be the silky-smooth style we see from the very classy Terence Crawford, but Rocky Marciano wasn't that silky and smooth either, and look at his record
He was very effective, he had a great chin and he could hit like a mule.So can Jeff Horn
If it comes down to a battle of spirits, and I think at some stage in this fight we all get tested, I back Jeff's spirit
"– Horn’s trainer Glenn Rushton "If Horn is to be considered truly the champion, he has to beat the best and the best is Crawford
He emerged from obscurity when he beat Pacquiao.Now is his opportunity to show that victory was no fluke
"– Top Rank’s Bob Arum "If he can get through those first few rounds then I’m sure he can win the fight
"– Aussie boxing legend Jeff Fenech "Horn will last one round."- Manny Pacquiao’s former trainer Freddie Roach WHAT ARE THE ODDS? Other lines Horn by KO/TKO $9
50 Horn by decision $13 Draw $34 Crawford by KO/TKO $1.67 Crawford by decision $3
10 * def Felix Diaz via 10th-round corner retirement - New York CIty, May 2017 Jose Benavidez vs
Frank Rojas - welterweight Maxim Dadashev vs.Darleys Perez - junior welterweight Shakur Stevenson vs
Aelio Mesquia – featherweight Steve Nelson vs.Dashon Webster - light heavyweight Gabriel Flores Jr
vs.Dustin Southichack – featherweight David Kaminsky vs.Trevor Lavin - junior middleweight