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Jeff Horn blasts own promoter over LGBT-Mundine stunt

A furious Jeff Horn has threatened to walk away from his promoters if they misrepresent him on social media again.

Promoter Dean Lonergan has taken responsibility for posts on Horn’s official social media channels over the weekend calling out opponent Anthony Mundine for his views on homosexuality.

The posts were heavily criticised as a cheap stunt to boost ticket sales for the pair’s upcoming fight in Brisbane.

Horn, an advocate against bullying, said he had nothing to do with them, having already taken them down and barring promoters from accessing his social media accounts.

“A lot of stuff has been said and it has been pretty frustrating that a lot of people have thought that I have been saying it because it has been coming from my social media accounts,” he said at a school visit on Wednesday.

“But I am not the only one with access to that. My promoters have as well and it has been frustrating for me.

“It has been frustrating for me but I guess I have changed those things around. I have taken people’s access down. I can only be the only person who can post things.

“I think the lines were crossed. I thought they would have been smart enough to come to me before they posted stuff and they were not.

Dean Lonergan has drawn the ire of Jeff Horn. Pic: Getty
Dean Lonergan has drawn the ire of Jeff Horn. Pic: Getty

“They knew that they had done the wrong thing, that they had gone too far. I said they should have spoken to me first before hand.

“I would be tempted to walk away if they were to continue that way.”

Horn also backed away from an earlier controversy, trainer Glenn Rushton’s suggestion that Mundine might need to take extra steps to drop weight before the fight.

“I don’t believe (Mundine) is taking drugs or anything like that,” Horn said.

Lonergan had acknowledged the response to his posts was “quite negative” and that he was “a bit aggressive”.

“I put an article in the paper on Sunday, and we have the ability to post posts on Jeff Horn’s Facebook page,” Lonergan told Sporting News.

“I put some stuff on there, one was a copy of the article, and one was another post around Anthony embracing the LGBT community and equality.

“I shouldn’t have done that. That was me putting posts up there. I made a mistake and I’ve pulled back from it.

One of the tweets shared by Dean Lonergan through Jeff Horn’s account. Pic: Twitter
One of the tweets shared by Dean Lonergan through Jeff Horn’s account. Pic: Twitter

“I’ve spoken to Anthony’s promoter today and said ‘I think I’ve gone a bit aggressive on it and I should have had a communication with you guys before I went to the media.'”

Before Horn made his threat to part with Lonergan, he had posted a measured update on Facebook.

“Society is made up of many colours. I support people and their right to choose and hold different opinions. The right place to debate our important social issues is in our community,” Horn wrote on Monday.

“I don’t support issues such as sexual preference and transgender (LGBTIQ) being used to persecute my opponent Anthony Mundine for having his own views.

“Anthony Mundine is an outstanding Australian athlete. He deserves in his last fight to be recognised for his great achievements and his contribution to Australian boxing.”

with AAP