Freddie Roach, trainer of eight division world champion Manny Pacquiao, is confident that Jeff Horn will not become the newest upset sensation in their upcoming fight.
Pacquiao will defend his WBO welterweight title against the 2012 Australian Olympian at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium on July 2, Horn's promoter Duco Events officially announced last week.
A deal for Pacquiao to defend his title against Horn had initially been scrapped in favour of a fight against Amir Khan in the United Arab Emirates on April 23, though the agreement with the British boxer eventually fell through.
Pacquiao (59-6-2, 38 KOs) last fought on November 5 and defeated Jessie Vargas to reclaim the welterweight title he lost to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in their 2015 blockbuster showdown.
Horn (16-0-1), 29, had been campaigning to fight Pacquiao for quite some time and will now get a chance to make a name for himself.
"I'd never actually thought Pacquiao would still be around when I was going to get my shot at the world title. I'm still young, still under 30, so I'm ready to take this shot," Horn said.
While Horn and his camp are confident of an upset - Roach rolls his eyes at the thought. Horn has never faced an opponent on the level of Pacquiao, and his two best wins have come against former champions Randall Bailey and Ali Funeka - both of which have seen much better days.
"Upsets are part of life. That’s very true but this is a world title fight and we will not be leaving Australia without that belt, believe me. I come up with different game plans for different fighters. Horn is a different opponent to all the other guys, every fighter is different. Manny and I will sit down together in Manila and work out exactly how to beat Horn. Whatever Horn brings we will be ready for it," Roach said to Fox Sports.
