WBO welterweight champion Jeff Horn (17-0-1, 11 KOs) has warned Bob Arum of of Top Rank that he will not be an easy mark for Terence Crawford (32-0, 23 KOs).

Horn is training hard for his upcoming ring return on December 13th at the Brisbane Convention Centre. On that night, Horn will make a voluntary defense of his world title against big underdog Gary Corcoran of the UK.

Crawford was recently named as the mandatory challenger to Horn's world title by the World Boxing Organization.

The undefeated former junior welterweight champion will be ringside for the Horn vs. Corcoran encounter.

Arum, who promotes Crawford and has options on Horn, plans to match them in the first quarter of 2018.

Crawford, who captured the IBF, WBA, WBC, WBO world titles at 140-pounds, is considered by many to be the top pound-for-pound fighter in the sport and most experts view him as a huge favorite to beat Horn.

The fight with Crawford will be the final fight option that Arum has over Horn.

Horn believes Arum is resting his hopes on a Crawford victory to retain control of the WBO world title.

“Bob Arum wants to keep my world title in his control,’’ Horn said to Courier Mail. “He wants one of his fighters to hold on to that belt. He’s got a two-fight deal with me, so Terence Crawford would be my last one. It depends if we are going to renegotiate a contract or whether he wants Terence to win because of their long-term deal.

“Bob has said he thinks Terence can beat me but no one should underestimate me. “That’s one of my biggest strengths – people underestimate me and then I beat them. Nobody is going to take this belt away from me cheaply.’’

Having said that, Horn made it clear that he wasn't underestimating his next opponent, Corcoran.

“I’ve got to take care of Gary first,” Horn said. “He’s told me he wants to take this belt from me so that has to be my focus right now.”