By Keith Idec
Terence Crawford has listened to Jeff Horn and his handlers belabor which gloves they’ll use, how referee Robert Byrd should officiate their fight, how Crawford “faked” his hand injury to postpone their fight and a lot of other provocative statements from Horn’s trainer, Glenn Rushton.
Crawford has heard just about enough. The undefeated former two-division champion can’t wait to get in the ring Saturday night at MGM Grand Garden Arena and prove why he is about a 10-1 favorite over the defending WBO welterweight champion.
“I’m just tired of hearing all day long the excuses on the gloves, the referee,” Crawford said Tuesday during a conference call. “I mean, it’s just so much. I’m just ready to go out there and shut him up.”
A deep bone bruise to the top of Crawford’s right hand, suffered during a sparring session in March, caused nearly a two-month postponement of their scheduled 12-round fight. Australia’s Horn (18-0-1, 12 KOs) and Crawford (32-0, 23 KOs), of Omaha, Nebraska, initially were set to fight April 14 at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.
Though fully healed, Crawford has endured the longest layoff of his 10-year pro career, almost 10 months. He hasn’t fought since knocking out previously unbeaten Julius Indongo (22-2, 11 KOs) in the third round of their 140-pound title unification fight August 19 in Lincoln, Nebraska.
“I’m gonna be ready,” Crawford said, “so come Saturday I’m gonna answer all the questions.”
Crawford, 30, will make his debut in the welterweight division against Horn, who’s also 30. The 5-feet-9 Horn stands one inch taller than Crawford, but Crawford isn’t worried about height or weight disadvantages, or anything else.
“We’re gonna make our adjustments,” Crawford said. “Like I said, he’s nothing that I haven’t faced before in the ring. The only thing we’ve gotta focus on is him coming in with his head and using his elbows. But other than that, it’s simple, you know, another fight.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.