Jeff Horn on Djarbeng win: “I was happy with my performance”

 
HAVING spent the early stages of the year on the sidelines due to injury, world rated welterweight Jeff Horn has wasted no time in his return.

 
Horn, 27, who holds credible top fifteen world ratings with both the WBO and the WBA, laid waste to his latest victim in WBA #11 welterweight Richmond Djarberg (19-3-1, 15 KOs) over three one-sided rounds last weekend.

 
With his latest win at the Arena Manawatu in Palmerston North secured, Horn (now 10-0-1, 8 KOs) successfully defended his PABA and WBO Oriental baubles, while also seizing Djarberg’s WBA Pan African strap.

 
“My career is moving along pretty fast but I believe in myself and I believe I can beat the guys I am facing,” said Horn in an interview with Aus-Boxing. “I am happy with my performances thus far,”

 
“My opponents I had faced nationally in Australia were top notch which has made moving towards the international scene a lot easier.”

 
“Richmond was an unknown by our team but he had the record and high position in the rankings that we wanted to target,” Horn explained. “I took the fight a bit slower to ensure that I didn’t run into any surprises,”

 
“I was happy with my performance. I stopped him in half as many rounds as he said he was going to stop me.”

 
The Brisbane-based former Olympian, who stands alone as Australia’s best welterweight, went into the title fight against Djarbeng off the back of a six-month injury layoff, the longest by far of his professional career.

 
In spite of this, Horn showed the mentality of a true professional, overcoming an opponent that he hadn’t seen any footage of and doing so with relative ease.

 
“It had been a long six month layoff due to breaking my hand during my last fight against Robson Assis,” Horn added. “I had surgery on my hand to fix the bone structure up to avoid worse injury in the future,”

 
Having cleaned out his backyard in the best part of eight fights, Horn has faced three international opponents in succession since signing with leading New Zealand promotional outfit Duco Events.

 
“My promoters Duco are treating me well at this stage,” Horn continued. “They are a very professional organisation that has a large team who work tirelessly to put on a great show.”

 
“I get along with everyone in Duco, they are nice people.”

 
Although he boasts two world ratings that will continue to flourish after another successful defence of his regional titles, Horn is looking to remain as active as possible.

 
The boxing school teacher aims to return in August, citing crafty Ukrainian veteran and IBF Inter-Continental welterweight champion Viktor Plotnykov (32-2, 15 KOs) as a possible opponent.

 
“If possible, we would like to have four or five fights for the rest of the year,” said Horn in closing. “But that just depends on how I pull up after each of those fights,”

 
“I am backing up in Invercargill back in New Zealand on August 1st. We are aiming at securing Viktor Plotnikov for this fight, who beat former Commonwealth welterweight champion Denton Vassell in his last fight,”

 
“He should be another big test for me.”

 
 
Photo: Getty Images