It's only natural for Manny Pacquiao's camp to underestimate Jeff Horn but they're doomed if they do.
That's the message from Horn's trainer Glenn Rushton, who believes the 29-year-old Australian is primed to make a name for himself in Sunday's 'Battle of Brisbane' with an upset victory over the Filipino boxing icon.
Pacquiao has kept quiet over the past two days, appearing only briefly at a VIP luncheon on Friday and making no comment to media before making a quick exit at Saturday morning's weigh-in, where both fighters cleared the welterweight limit of 66.7kg.
But Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach, strength and conditioning coach Justin Fortune and advisor Michael Koncz did all his talking for him at the start of the week.
They have clearly taken a dismissive attitude towards Horn (16-0-1, 11 KOs) and Rushton, laughing off their challenge for the WBO welterweight title and egging Pacquiao on to seek an early knockout win to not only prove he is still a force at 38 years of age, but put him back on track for a possible rematch with Floyd Mayweather Jr.
"I think maybe there's going to be some underestimation of us there," Rushton told reporters.
"I think that would be natural to do that. If they do, it's at their peril.
"They don't know how good Jeff really is.
"I think they're going to find out tomorrow how tough, competitive and technically proficient he is.
"All of that's going to dawn on Manny very early in the fight.
"Once he gets through the first two or three rounds he's going to go back to his corner and say, 'this isn't going to be an easy day at the office'."
Pacquiao (59-6-2, 38 KOs) is seeking his first stoppage win since his technical knockout of Miguel Cotto in 2009.
