Glenn Rushton, the head trainer of WBO welterweight champion Jeff Horn (18-0-1, 12 KOs), is confident that his boxer is capable of scoring a knockout victory over mandatory challenger Terence Crawford (32-0, 23 KOs).
Rushton watched closely at Crawford's 2014 victory over Yuriorkis Gamboa - who fought for the WBO lightweight title.
Crawford eventually moved up to junior welterweight and unified the entire weight class - and now he's heading up to welterweight - in search of his third divisional title.
Rushton does not believe Crawford's chin has been properly tested and feels that he won't stand up to the power of Horn.
If Horn land flush, Rushton expected Crawford to get badly hurt and go down.
What Rushton doesn't want, is any excuses once Horn pulls off a major upset - similar to the one in July 2017 when he shocked Manny Pacquiao in Brisbane.
“I don’t think [his chin has been tested]. I think when he got hit by Gamboa and wobbled by a super featherweight — wait until you get hit by Jeff Horn," Rushton told The Australian.
“You won’t just wobble, you will fall over. I saw something in a lot of different (Crawford) fights. He is a brilliant boxer, we take nothing away from his skills. He is in the peak of his career, it is in his own backyard. I just want to go into the fight and say no excuses, no excuses Terence, whoever wins, wins, right, got it.
“Make sure you are clear on that. I said the same thing going into the Manny Pacquiao fight and afterwards all the excuses came out. All these excuses. When I stood in the ring with Manny Pacquiao after the fight I looked in the eyes of a warrior.
“A week later, I heard the rantings of a politician. All the advisers said, ‘You can’t admit you got beaten, we have to have excuses, we have to have reasons’. I just hope we don’t have the same against Terence Crawford.”
