Jeff Horn's camp fire back at 'crap' headbutt barbs

Las Vegas: Jeff Horn's camp has fired back at the "crap" labelling him a dirty fighter, but Terence Crawford's entourage best reconsider if they think they're getting inside the world champion's head.

Horn's cutman Stephen Edwards has hit out at the "ill-informed, uneducated" allegations that the Queenslander leads with his head in a bid to damage opponents.

But it's all water off a duck's back for the reigning World Boxing Organisation welterweight champion (18-0-1) as he prepares to defend his strap against Crawford (32-0) at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday (AEST).

Crawford is considered one of the best pound-for-pound fighters on the planet but is making a step up in weight class to challenge Horn, who traditionally uses his size and aggression to maul his opponents.

Accidental headbutts have become a constant in Horn's bouts against southpaws, which has been a source of controversy in the 30-year-old's recent bouts.

But Edwards says the notion Horn leads with his head to damage rivals is preposterous - especially given the Australia's propensity to being split open.

"Despite all the crap you see on social media, Jeff doesn’t lead with his head," Edwards said.

"If he did lead with his head, why would you lead with your eyebrows? Jeff gets cut on his eyebrows. If you try to headbutt something, you don’t try to headbutt it with your eyebrows

"Jeff doesn’t want head clashes. If you have a propensity to potentially get some cuts, you’re not wanting head clashes. Jeff doesn’t lead with his head, he doesn’t want head clashes, he’s not a headbutter or anything like this.

"We don’t want him to get cut so he doesn’t. He gets cut on his eyebrows, you don’t lead with his eyebrows."

Edwards concedes he is always "preparing for the worst and praying it doesn't happen" when it comes to cuts with Horn's looming title defence shaping up as an absolute brawl.

But none of it is bothering the champion, who has spent a week in Las Vegas as an outsider barely noticed by the general public.

"It probably frustrates me more than it frustrates Jeff. Jeff is a pretty easy going guy, nothing fazes Jeff," Edwards said.

"It doesn’t frustrate Jeff, nothing frustrates Jeff - except maybe losing to me at poker, that’s about the only thing that frustrates Jeff.

"It frustrates me because I care about him, I respect him and I admire him. When I see stuff that is wrong, ill-informed, uneducated statements, or statements made without looking at the facts, that frustrates me a bit."

Horn's camp has welcomed a large Australian media contingent in with open arms as he prepares for his title defence but the fancied American has not been so courteous.

Crawford is refusing to speak with Australian media as the heated rivalry between the two camps reaches boiling point.

However Edwards says the hostility is only coming from one side - and you better believe it isn't the side of the humble former school teacher from Brisbane.

"We get on with it pretty quickly. You’ll notice we’re a pretty relaxed team. We don’t get wound up," Edwards said.

"The other team seems to be a bit wound up, that seems to be their style. That doesn’t mind us. That’s the big contrast between the two teams.

"Team Crawford seems to be very highly strung, very wound up, take everything personally, fire back, f-bombs left, right and centre.

"We’re pretty relaxed, there’s been a lot more disrespectful stuff from, not sure if it’s just Team Crawford but in general fly our way.

"We just roll with it and we get on with it. At the end of the day, as [trainer Glenn Rushton] says, that’s just sideline noise leading up to the fight. The fight is the main thing. That’s all we’re really worried about."

HORN v CRAWFORD

Sunday: Jeff Horn v Terence Crawford for the WBO welterweight championship at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas. TV: Live on Main Event from 10am.

• Caden Helmers is in Las Vegas as a guest of Duco Events.