Jeff Horn to face Gary Corcoran in December

Jeff Horn’s first WBO welterweight title defense has been agreed to but not finalized, as the Australian will take on England’s Gary Corcoran in a matchup that, on paper, is really more about treading water before a bigger fight for Horn in 2018.

Horn (17-0-1, 11 KO) won the title in July with a highly controversial decision against Manny Pacquiao, and a November rematch was expected, before Pacquiao pulled out due to his Senatorial duties in the Philippines taking priority.

Bob Arum, who co-promotes Horn, is already looking forward:

"If Horn beats this kid, we could do the Pacquiao rematch in the first part of 2018 or go right to a fight with [Terence] Crawford. Pacquiao might not fight again. Who knows?"

Corcoran (17-1, 7 KO) could be generously described as a fringe contender, whose biggest fight came in July 2016, when he was stopped in the 11th round by Liam Williams in a British junior middleweight title fight. He moved down to welterweight after that, most recently slipping past Larry Ekundayo by split decision on July 8.

ESPN will carry the fight in the United States, as part of their deal with Top Rank.