Jeff Horn Stops Gary Corcoran To Retain WBO 147 Crown

Jeff Horn took out Gary Corcoran in a quite spirited battle Wednesday and sent a ripple of joy through a growing fanbase in Horn’s native Australia.

In round ten, WBO 147 champ Horn after grueling rounds which saw solid ebb and flow, the Brit Corcoran, his left eye a deteriorating mess, was grinning as he threw. A slice over Horn’s right eye did zero to dissaude him from fighting his way, that is to say, ruggedly, insistently, without a veneer of fancy technique or smoothness but with effectiveness.

Horn (18-0-1 with 12 KOs; 29 years old), who had to lose eight pounds in a day to make 147, would lead with rights, even, showing solid hand speed for these late innings. His stamina is one of his best traits, and we wonder, will he get to use it fully in his next bout, against Terence Crawford?

Round 11 was the endgame; Corcoran’s will help up more than admirably, but his body couldn’t keep up. The official time stamp, 1:35 elapsed.

The ref, Benji Esteves, asked the doc to assess the Brit after the tenth. “Where’s the doc?” Esteves said as the physician climbed on to the apron.

SAY, CAN YOU SEE?

Can you see? Well enough, he was told. Fight on, then.

The 11th commenced, and combos were launched. One-twos, a hellacious right uppercut, the Brit’s body language was sagging. He was backed up to the ropes, no place to go, and the Aussie saw and smelled blood. But the Brit was still coming forward, even as his corner indicated that they were throwing in the towel. Esteves complied, stepping between the two men and declaring Horn, co-promoted by Top Rank, the winner.

By the way, Corcoran (17-2; age 27) did nothing to hurt his future prospects as an attraction. He was throwing a sharp left hook which just missed as Esteves heard the corner call for mercy.

ESPN effed up and ran over, so DVRs were cut off the last two rounds, but you can watch the full fight at 9:30 PM ET, tonight (Wednesday).

Expect to hear soon about specifics on when and where Horn will defend his title against Terence Crawford, maybe the best boxer on the planet, soon. Bob Arum has indicated that would come in March or April, and it will screen on ESPN.

Crawford was asked what he thought of the Horn victory?

“Jeff Horn did what he had to do to get the job done tonight but I’m a totally different fighter than Gary Corcoran. I have more power and more speed than Corcoran. When he steps in to the ring with me, it’s going to be a very different story.

“When I move up to the 147 pound division, everyone is going to see a bigger, stronger fighter and a harder puncher than they saw at 140 pounds. I plan to do the same thing at 147 that I did at 135 and 140 and clean out the division.

“2017 has been a huge year for me with stoppages over Olympic gold medalist Felix Diaz and fellow undefeated unified World Champion Julius Indongo, my move to the number one spot on the pound-for-pound list and becoming the undisputed Junior Welterweight Champion of the World.

“In 2018, I’m going to continue to be successful. I feel like I’m getting better each and every time I step foot in to the ring and I know that will continue next year in my new weight division.”

On Glenn Rushton's (Horn’s trainer) comments:

“There are holes in everybody’s game. There’s a lot of holes in Jeff Horn’s game and everyone will see that when he gets in the ring with me.”