Jeff Horn is ready to expose the "manufactured" record of unbeaten American sensation Terence Crawford, according to his promoter.
Four months after first being mooted, Horn's mandatory defence of his WBO welterweight title against Crawford has been officially signed off for April 14 at the Mandalay Bay Events Centre in Las Vegas.
It is a monumental challenge for the 29-year-old former schoolteacher, after shooting to fame last year with his controversial win over Manny Pacquiao.
Crawford, 30, is regarded as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world and, unlike Pacquiao, is well and truly in his prime.
The highly skilled Omaha, Nebraska native has never tasted defeat in 32 professional fights, winning 23 of them by knockout. He is stepping up to the 66.67kg limit for the first time after cleaning out the light-welterweight division.
But Duco Events boss Dean Lonergan believes the American isn't as good as he's been made out to be and has bitten off more than he can chew against the bigger, stronger, awkwardly styled Horn.
"You look at Crawford's record, he's got nobody of any great note on it," Lonergan told AAP.
"There's no Manny Pacquiao; there's not even an equivalent of a Randall Bailey.
"Crawford's record, I think, has been a bit manufactured and he's in for a really hard fight with Jeff Horn.
"I wouldn't want to be Crawford's trainer right now, trying to fight somebody who emulates Jeff Horn.
"You can get awkward fighters out there but the one thing you can't replace is his sheer will to win.
"I don't care who they spar over there, you're going to have no one with a greater will to win than Jeff Horn.
"Our matchmaker Stuart Duncan thinks he can win this fight."
The bout, Horn's first outside Australia and New Zealand, is the last of his two-fight co-promotional deal with Bob Arum's Top Rank.
It also marks his opportunity to prove himself to US boxing fans, many of whom hold a grudge against Horn in the belief he was wrongly awarded victory against Pacquiao.
"Every American punter thinks that," Lonergan said.
"All they've seen of Jeff is one fight against Manny Pacquiao with a biased commentary.
"I think the American public, after this fight, will seriously warm to Jeff because he brings to the table what they love: blood, guts and glory."
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