Hall of Fame referee and ESPN Deportes expert analyst Joe Cortez is not overly impressed with last year's big run by WBO welterweight champion Jeff Horn (18-0-1, 12 KOs).
Horn won what some felt was a controversial twelve round unanimous decision over Manny Pacquiao at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Australia.
He then made a voluntary defense with a stoppage victory over British contender Gary Concoran.
Now Horn is scheduled to make a mandatory world title defense against one of the best boxers in the business, two division champion Terence Crawford (32-0, 23 KOs).
Crawford captured his first world title at lightweight and then unified the entire junior welterweight division.
The undefeated challenger is heavily favored to beat Horn when they collide on April 14th at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.
"Take nothing away from Jeff Horn, he’s a good outstanding fighter, he’s faced a lot of talent, but that decision over Pacquiao was a controversial decision in the eyes of a lot fans out there. A lot of fans felt that Pacquiao won that fight, so Jeff Horn is a champion but he beat a guy when a lot of fans thought he lost," Cortez told On The Ropes Boxing Radio.
"He beat a Manny Pacquiao who was past his prime and now we’re talking about him fighting Terence Crawford. Crawford is probably the best pound-for-pound fighter out there. This will be a very difficult fight for Jeff Horn when he fights Terence Crawford."
Cortez believes Crawford can score a knockout victory over Horn in the later rounds.
The veteran ref just doesn't see how Horn will be capable of coming out on top when considering the skill set of Crawford.
"I believe he can in the later rounds. It’s going to be a difficult fight but I believe he can stop him in the later rounds because Crawford reminds me a lot of Lomachenko, he’s very smart and I don’t think Jeff Horn can withstand the kind of pressure from a guy who has all the moves in the sweet science of boxing. Terence Crawford is a good switch hitter and he’s very smart. It’s going to be very difficult for Jeff Horn because of the skills that Crawford has," Cortez said.
