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Jeff Horn keeps welterweight belt with TKO win over Gary Corcoran and sets sights on Terence Crawford

Jeff Horn, right, defeated Gary Corcoran to retain his WBO welterweight title bout at Brisbane Convention Centre in Brisbane, Australia, on Dec. 13.
(Patrick Hamilton / AFP / Getty Images)
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Australian Jeff Horn retained his welterweight title early Wednesday morning and set up an April showdown in Las Vegas against unbeaten former junior-welterweight champion Terence Crawford.

Horn (18-0-1, 12 knockouts), in the first defense of his World Boxing Organization belt since upsetting Manny Pacquiao in front of 51,000 fans in July, defeated England’s Gary Corcoran by an 11th-round technical knockout in Brisbane, Australia.

Promoter Bob Arum repeated after the bout what he said last week: Horn’s victory moves him to the showdown against Crawford (32-0, 23 KOs).

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Crawford, 30, opted to leave the 140-pound division after winning all four of its belts. His August knockout of Julius Indongo puts him in competition against super-featherweight Vasyl Lomachenko as fighter of the year, and he’s ranked No. 1 in The Times’ list of top 10 pound-for-pound fighters.

“That’s what the people want — entertainment, right?” Horn, 29, said in the ring after engaging in a toe-to-toe bout against the awkward Corcoran in the 6,000-seat Brisbane Convention Centre.

Corcoran’s push for a decisive punch was seen in CompuBox statistics that showed he landed only eight jabs in the final nine rounds.

Horn was more productive and effective with his punches, outlanding Corcoran 80-42 over the past five rounds and targeting the nasty cut by the challenger’s left eye that required a doctor’s examination.

In the 11th round, Corcoran’s corner motioned to referee Benjy Esteves that the fighter had had enough, stopping the bout 1 minute, 35 seconds into the round.

lance.pugmire@latimes.com

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@latimespugmire

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