By Ray Wheatley — World of Boxing

WBO welterweight champion Jeff Horn is confident he will defeat WBO mandatory contender Terrence Crawford in 2018 and has warned Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum to not underestimate him.

“Bob Arum wants to keep my world title in his control,” Horn said to Courier Mail. “He wants one of his fighters to hold on to that belt. He’s got a two-fight deal with me, so Terence Crawford would be my last one. It depends if we are going to renegotiate a contract or whether he wants Terence to win because of their long-term deal.

“Bob has said he thinks Terence can beat me – but no one should underestimate me. That’s one of my biggest strengths – people underestimate me and then I beat them. Nobody is going to take this belt away from me cheaply.

“I’ve got to take care of Gary first. He’s told me he wants to take this belt from me so that has to be my focus right now.”

Horn defends the WBO belt against WBO #10 Gary Corcoran on December 13 in Brisbane.