Jeff Horn

At 36 years old, Jeff Horn has this physical status:

Jeffrey Christopher Horn Jr. (born 4 February 1988) is an Australian professional boxer who has competed for the WBO welterweight title from 2017 to 2018.

Horn performed at the 2012 Olympics as an amateur, winning the light welterweight bracket's quarterfinals in August 2019.

Personal life

Horn lives in Brisbane, and his father, Jeff Horn Sr., is a builder. Liza Dykstra, Horn's mother, works with the Saint Vincent de Paul Society. During the 1930s, Ray Horns' grandfather competed in exhibition boxing tournaments in the Queensland outback. Graham Quirk, Brisbane's former Lord Mayor, is his second cousin.

Horn holds a Bachelor of Education degree from Griffith University and worked as a physical education instructor for Pallara State School in Brisbane.

Isabelle Kate Horn, his son, was born on December 30, 2017.

Horn had been bullied as a youth and cited this as the reason he started boxing, first as a means to protect himself.

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Amateur career

Horn claimed his first Australian title in 2009 and repeated the feat in 2011. He went on to win a silver medal at the Gee-Bee Tournament in Helsinki and compete in the 2011 AIBA World Boxing Championships in Baku, where he lost to eventual champion Everton Lopes in the second round. He won his third Australian title and first Oceania title in 2012, earning him a spot in the London Olympics for the third time.

Men's light-welterweight (64 kg)

Professional career

Horn made his professional debut in Melbourne on March 1, 2013, defeating in the second round due to a technical knockout. In just his seventh pro bout, he defeated Naoufel Ben Rabah, the two-time world champion and former IBF top contender. Horn faced Randall Bailey, the former two-division world champion, on April 27. Horn was disqualified in the third round after losing Bailey in the second round. Horn was TKO after Bailey refused to get up from his chair before round eight, which was TKO. Horn defeated Rico Mueller by TKO in round nine on October 21, 2016 and defeated the German by TKO in round nine. The WBO ranked him as the second welterweight in the world following the fight. Horn met former IBO welterweight champion Ali Funeka, who was disqualified in the sixth round on December 10. With Top Rank promoter Bob Arum in attendance, his victory set up a showdown with eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao.

Horne signed up to face WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao in Brisbane on April 23. Horn's little exposure on the international stage meant the fight was met with utter surprise and apprehension, prompting Pacquiao to say, "I don't know who Jeff Horn is." Pacquiao's tweet on February 12th escalated talks when he said he wanted to fight in the UAE. Pacquiao and Amir Khan announced on February 26 that they had reached an agreement to combat, leaving Horn with no one to fight. Khan's match was called off on March 7th, but a Pacquiao-Horn pact was signed on September 5th. A press conference on 10 April announced the match, which took place at Suncorp Stadium on 2 July 2017. Horn defeated Pacquiao by a majority decision after 12 rounds. According to CompuBox results, Pacquiao landed 182 out of 573 punches (32%), while Horn landed only 92 of 625 (85%). Many analysts, as well as several established and former boxers, believed Pacquiao had done enough to keep the WBO title intact.

Any boxing analysts, sports journalists, and fans alike condemned Horn's victory over Pacquiao, with some comparing the decision to that of the tense Pacquiao versus Timothy Bradley fight. Dan Rafael of ESPN scored the fight 117–111, and ESPN analyst Teddy Atlas scored it 116–111, both for Pacquiao. The Guardian and the International Business Times both scored the fight in Pacquiao's favor, 117-111. Pacquiao had 116–112 for Pacquiao, while CBS Sports had the fight 114–114. Horn's Steve Bunce was the 115-113 champion. 12 of 15 media outlets scored the match for Pacquiao; 2 of 15 outlets ruled in favour of Horn, and 1 of 15 outlets reported a draw.

Horn got away with a slew of dirty tactics in the war, including elbows and headbutts, according to Pacquiao, who used unlawful weapons such as elbows and headbutts.

The WBO agreed to analyze Pacquiao and Horn's confrontation in response to a formal request from the Philippine Games and Amusements Board. Five anonymous judges rated the game round-by-round, but the WBO announced that they do not have the ability to change the original result of the match. Horn winning seven rounds and Pacquiao winning five rounds, and the WBO recapped the match in favor of Pacquiao winning five rounds.

Horn had hoped to give Pacquiao a match, but the match was postponed and did not take place. Horn, as a result, launched a voluntary defense of the WBO against Gary Corcoran on December 13, 2017. In the eleventh round, Corcoran's side decided to throw in the towel, so Horn retained the title by TKO. Both fighters were cut during the fight, but Horn was leading on the scorecards at the time of the cessation.

Horn was beaten by Terence Crawford for the WBO welterweight title on June 9, 2018. Crawford earned the ninth round by a technical knockout, becoming the new WBO welterweight champion.

Since losing to Crawford and taking on Anthony Mundine on November 30, 2018, Horn moved to middleweight. In just 96 seconds, he defeated Mundine in a matter of 96 seconds.

Horn defeated Michael Zerafa in Bendigo on August 31, 2019. Horn was disqualified in the ninth round for the second time in his career.

Horns, on the other hand, won the rematch by majority vote on December 18, 2019 bringing his record to 20–2–1.

Horns opponent Tim Tszyu, one of Australia's best up-and-coming fighters, took on one of Australia's best up-and-coming fighters on August 26, 2020. Tszyu was ranked #5 in the World Bank at super welterweight. Tszyu dropped horn twice, once in the third and once in the sixth round, and then went on to crush Horn until the end of the eighth round, when Horn's corner decided not to continue the fight.

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Awards and recognitions

• October 2017 - Sport Australia Hall of Fame Don Award, recognising the sporting achievement of the year which has inspired the people of Australia.
• November 2017 - Queensland Sport Star of the Year.
• December 2017 - Sporting Moment of The Year at the Australian Institute of Sport Awards.