Jeff Horn has continued his march towards a world welterweight title fight, punishing Frenchman Ahmed El Mousaoui over 10 rounds to win by unanimous decision.
The No.7-ranked contender for Timothy Bradley's WBO crown, Horn made a strong statement, dismantling the European welterweight champ in Hamilton to stay unbeaten after 14 fights.
Mousaoui (22-2-1), who beat Britain's former world champ Junior Witter in his last fight, represented a huge step up for the Brisbane teacher, who is eager for a shot at the title even at this early stage in his career.
"As soon as the opportunity comes up, we're going to take it," Horn said after the fight.
"We've got nothing to lose. I've had 14 fights now yet most of these guys have had 20-plus fights.
"So if I get a title shot and I lose, big deal, but I'll keep going till I get that."
While this one will go down as a scrappy win - Horn giving himself a `B' grade afterwards - his work towards becoming more evasive when setting up his combinations proved crucial against a fighter who enjoyed an advantage in height, reach and experience.
It gave the 27-year-old a slight edge through the opening five rounds, before a sizeable gap opened up as El Mousaoui, lacking any real power, came off second best in a number of explosive exchanges.
With an eye on potential title bouts in the near future, Horn's corner team, led by trainer Glenn Rushton, urged their fighter to pick up the workrate to take the fight out of the judges' hands.
Damage to El Mousaoui's left eye reflected the ease with which Horn was able to land his right hand, while he confidently switched to a southpaw stance to keep his opponent off balance.
Horn walked through the wild looping punches of his opponent and continually rocked him to close the deal in the final rounds.
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