Arum: Horn Probably Strongest Fighter at 147, Crawford Possible
Posted: 17 Jul 2017, 10:34
According to Top Rank's CEO Bob Arum, he tried to warn everyone about the talent level of WBO welterweight champion Jeff Horn (17-0-1, 11 KOs).
Arum does not see the controversy in the outcome. He felt it was a close fight that could have gone either way.
"Horn was relatively unknown because nobody would listen to me, but I saw him fight last year on the Parker-Ruiz card, and I told everybody that he was a big, strong welterweight who would give Manny Pacquiao or any other welterweight trouble. I saw him with my own eyes fighting an African kid [Ali] Funeka, and Horn took him to the limit and knocked him out, so I knew Horn was good," Arum explained to BS.com.
"I thought the fight [between Horn and Pacquiao] was very, very close. I had it scored six rounds to six, and I thought Manny should have got a 10-8 round in the ninth round. I had Manny winning by one point. So if the judges have Horn winning seven rounds to five, you can't argue with that. I had Manny winning the eleventh round and the judges had Horn winning the eleventh round, and that was the difference."
And Arum already warns that Horn would be a very tough opponent for Crawford - and everyone else at the welterweight limit.
"I think Jeff Horn is competitive with anybody. As far as Mayweather is concerned, he announced that he's not fighting anymore after the McGregor thing, and I believe him. As far as Crawford is concerned, we'll see. He has a tough fight with Indongo. That's a great fight in Nebraska on August 19th. Crawford will fight at least one more time this year. If Jeff Horn does not fight Manny Pacquiao in a rematch, Jeff Horn will fight anybody he said, and that could possibly be Crawford," Arum said.
"Do I think Crawford is better than Horn? Probably. I think Crawford is one of the best fighters in the world, but you can't count out a kid like Horn. He is a tough, tough kid and he is probably strongest welterweight in the world. If it was just an alley fight, I would pick Horn against any welterweight out there. Obviously these are not alley fights, but Manny Pacquiao has never fought a fighter as strong, physically, as Horn."
Arum does not see the controversy in the outcome. He felt it was a close fight that could have gone either way.
"Horn was relatively unknown because nobody would listen to me, but I saw him fight last year on the Parker-Ruiz card, and I told everybody that he was a big, strong welterweight who would give Manny Pacquiao or any other welterweight trouble. I saw him with my own eyes fighting an African kid [Ali] Funeka, and Horn took him to the limit and knocked him out, so I knew Horn was good," Arum explained to BS.com.
"I thought the fight [between Horn and Pacquiao] was very, very close. I had it scored six rounds to six, and I thought Manny should have got a 10-8 round in the ninth round. I had Manny winning by one point. So if the judges have Horn winning seven rounds to five, you can't argue with that. I had Manny winning the eleventh round and the judges had Horn winning the eleventh round, and that was the difference."
And Arum already warns that Horn would be a very tough opponent for Crawford - and everyone else at the welterweight limit.
"I think Jeff Horn is competitive with anybody. As far as Mayweather is concerned, he announced that he's not fighting anymore after the McGregor thing, and I believe him. As far as Crawford is concerned, we'll see. He has a tough fight with Indongo. That's a great fight in Nebraska on August 19th. Crawford will fight at least one more time this year. If Jeff Horn does not fight Manny Pacquiao in a rematch, Jeff Horn will fight anybody he said, and that could possibly be Crawford," Arum said.
"Do I think Crawford is better than Horn? Probably. I think Crawford is one of the best fighters in the world, but you can't count out a kid like Horn. He is a tough, tough kid and he is probably strongest welterweight in the world. If it was just an alley fight, I would pick Horn against any welterweight out there. Obviously these are not alley fights, but Manny Pacquiao has never fought a fighter as strong, physically, as Horn."