Jeff Horn may not be getting the big money fight for his first title defense, but Bob Arum has big plans in store for the young Australian.
Arum recently said that if Horn beats Gary Corcoran in Horn's next fight, which is supposed to take place in December, then the plan for Horn in 2018 is to have Horn either fight Manny Pacquiao or Terence Crawford.
“If Horn beats this kid, we could do the Pacquiao rematch in the first part of 2018 or go right to a fight with [Terence] Crawford. Pacquiao might not fight again. Who knows?" Arum said.
Pacquiao was supposed to be Horn's opponent after Horn beat Pacquiao in July on a controversial unanimous decision. The two were set to fight on November 11, but Pacquiao had to withdraw from the fight after his schedule for his senator duties in the Philippines did not allow him to prepare and fight Horn again in 2017.
Crawford was linked to a fight with Horn after Crawford said he wanted to move up in weight after beating Julius Indongo and becoming the first ever undisputed junior welterweight world champion. Crawford is promoted by Top Rank, same as Horn and Pacquiao, which would have made negotiating a fight easier. Arum instead wanted to hold that potential fight for next year. Despite Crawford stating his intentions of moving up in weight, he still carries some of his junior welterweight titles. He does not have a title defense planned in the event he does stay at 140 pounds.
Horn vs. Corcoran is not yet official, but reports say the fight has been agreed upon and is awaiting final confirmation from Australian officials to approve the fight and have the fight be at a stadium, similar to Pacquiao vs. Horn taking place at SunCorp Stadium.
