‘He’s like watching paint dry’: Mundine goes big on verbal barbs ahead of Horn bout
Anthony Mundine has labelled himself the "dream crusher", saying he will deny Jeff Horn on his home turf in the River City Rumble in Brisbane on Friday night.
Key points:
- Anthony Mundine says Jeff Horn got 'found out' against Terence Crawford and says the same will happen against him
- Says Horn is 'like watching paint dry' and reckons the Queenslander will be 'huffing and puffing' at fight's end
- Horn believes he has gained more power after going up in weight
Former welterweight world champion Horn and long-time Australian boxing icon Mundine will face off at Lang Park on Friday in what could be Mundine's last-ever fight.
Horn comes into the fight as the heavily backed favourite following his technical knockout loss to Terence Crawford in the WBO welterweight bout in June.
But Mundine was typically forthright in the pre-bout press conference in Brisbane's Queen Street Mall, saying he was going to "bull rush" Horn in the fight dubbed a State of Origin-style tussle.
"I know he ain't going to do s***, my skills are too good, man," Mundine said.
"[Horn's trainer] Glen Rushton and his team have done a good job making him believe the hype. He's good at what he does and he's effective at what he's done, but there's levels to this s***.
"He got found out against Crawford, and he's going to get found out against me.
"I can do anything. I've been around the block a long time. I'm a different beast, I'm a different man.
"There's extraordinary athletes. I'm in the extraordinary bracket. I'm still fit, still super fit. He'll be huffing and puffing by the end of the fight."
Mundine said Horn was trying to take his legacy away from him and he was determined to spoil the Queenslander's dreams on his home turf.
"He's trying to take my legacy. I ain't going to let that happen. Just call me the dream crusher, because I'm about to crush his dream," Mundine said.
"They're all watching me, baby. I'm the show, the main attraction. He's boring. He's like watching paint dry. I'm the character, I'm the personality. I'm the man that transcends sport. That's me."
Horn praises Mundine's career, happy for a points victory
In contrast, Horn was his typically mild-mannered self, praising Mundine for a career at the top level in both rugby league and boxing.
"I have been impressed, to go from rugby league to have such a good boxing style like Mundine, that counter-fighting style, it's impressive. He's been an athlete for 25 years, that's an amazing feat," Horn said.
"I feel energetic, I feel a lot better than Mundine does. I feel good, I feel happy.
"I've been hitting a lot harder, and … my punching power has increased with the extra weight I've got on."
Horn said he was happy for any kind of win over Mundine, including a points victory, but that the boxing world would expect nothing less than a KO against Mundine.
"It's enough for the victory, that's for sure. If I was to go for the points victory, that's enough for the win," Horn said.
"To impress the world, they would expect a KO in this fight.
"When they look at Mundine, they don't know what he's done, what he's like, they just go 'he's 43 years of age, he's lost a few fights' and they wouldn't expect him to be at my level, so they'd expect a knockout victory."
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ABC .net
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