After a contentious upset over Manny Pacquiao to win his first world title and a successful defense on home soil, Jeff Horn is ready to take his WBO welterweight belt to Las Vegas.
The former school teacher from Australia won by knockout in the 11th round Wednesday when Gary Corcoran's corner threw in the towel with the England-based boxer bleeding from a deep cut above his left eye.
It was Horn's first fight since his unanimous decision upset over eight-division champion Pacquiao in front of more than 51,000 fans in an outdoor afternoon fight at nearby Suncorp Stadium in July in the "Battle of Brisbane" — a victory that some critics dismissed as a hometown decision.
Horn, now unbeaten in 19 bouts, is hoping the win Wednesday at the smaller Brisbane Convention Centre sets him up for a fight against Terence Crawford next year.
Top Rank promoter Bob Arum said he expected to soon confirm a Crawford-Horn fight in Las Vegas in April.
Arum said the step up to the 147-pound division would be another challenge for the unbeaten Crawford.
The early rounds Wednesday were close with Corcoran continually walking forward and the pair clinching in close, but Horn landed enough punches to have a lead before he started to find his range in the seventh and dominated the next three rounds.
Not the result I wanted but it is what it is .
Two judges had awarded all but one round to Horn before the fight was stopped, and the other had given all 10 rounds to Horn.
Corcoran (17-2) needed six stitches to the cut above his left eye and another four stitches to a cut on the right.
Horn had plenty of support in Brisbane, where he's related to the Lord Mayor and was part of a public campaign to back the state premier in a recent election.
Crawford, who watched the fight on ESPN, predicts Horn will get more than he's expecting in America.
For his part, Horn is ready to fulfill a long-time plan to fight in the United States.
"From the start, it's where I pictured myself fighting for a world title," he said, adding the he was confident against Crawford. "He's someone definitely I can beat in the boxing world. I'm sure of that. I'm very confident, and that's the first step in this game."
"I'm confident I'm a much bigger guy then Crawford and I've got the style to beat him. It's every boxer's dream, it's what I imagined from the start. In a big casino somewhere fighting for a world title."
