Jeff Horn came out of nowhere to become a world boxing champion in 2017, but he says holding his baby daughter for the first time beats that.
The 29-year-old and his wife Joanna welcomed Isabelle Kate Horn at 7.40pm on Saturday, weighing 3.58kg.
Horn said becoming a father a day before the end of the best year of his life was even better than beating Manny Pacquiao to win the WBO Welterweight title in July.
Jeff Horn came out of nowhere to become a world boxing champion in 2017, but he says holding his baby daughter for the first time beats that
The 29-year-old and his wife Joanna welcomed Isabelle Kate Horn was born at 7.40pm on Saturday, weighing 3.58kg
‘It’s number one for sure. Nothing really compares to that, you can’t beat this moment,’ he told the Courier Mail.
The former schoolteacher said he had tears in his eyes when Isabelle was born and even talking about her made his eyes misty.
The couple reversed roles for Joanna’s 18-hour labour with Horn the one frustrated seeing his partner in pain without being able to do anything about it.
Joanna went into labour about 3am on Saturday but they didn’t head to the hospital until about four hours later after getting breakfast and going to the post office.
The former schoolteacher said he had tears in his eyes when Isabelle was born and even talking about her made his eyes misty
The boxing champ called the experience ‘extremely frightening’ and was relieved when his daughter was safely out in the world
His wife was even surprised how natural he was with her – even more hands on than she was to the point where he might even teach her something
The boxing champ called the experience ‘extremely frightening’ and was relieved when his daughter was safely out in the world.
His wife was even surprised how natural he was with her – even more hands on than she was to the point where he might even teach her something.
‘She’s just perfect and we can’t stop staring at her and thinking oh my gosh we created this. It’s unbelievable,’ she said.
Horn was enjoying a break from training until February when he will prepare for a rematch with Pacquiao sometime this year.
‘It’s number one for sure. Nothing really compares to that, you can’t beat this moment,’ Horn said, declaring her birth better than his boxing victories
He, like all new parents, was dealing with sleepless nights but said Isabelle was ‘well behaved’ and not crying too much
Horn and a heavily pregnant Joanna after he defended his title on January 14
For now he, like all new parents, was dealing with sleepless nights but said Isabelle was ‘well behaved’ and not crying too much.
‘We’re waiting for the night she keeps us up all night but we’ve been able to get a few hours in at least for now,’ he said.
Horn won the World Boxing Organisation’s World Welterweight title on July 2, after 12 rounds in Brisbane against Pacquiao.
His upset win cemented his place as one of the world’s boxing greats, five years after he represented Australia at the London Olympics.
Jeff Horn and his wife Jo, who married in 2014, met at high school and are first-time parents
Jeff Horn won the WBO welterweight title in Brisbane defeating Manny Pacquiao in 12 rounds
Jo was a regular at Jeff Horn’s training sessions during her pregnancy with their first child
Horn, a former physical education teacher at Pallara State School, in Brisbane’s south, met his future wife Jo when they were both students at Macgregor High School.
They began dating after they had both finished year 12 and married in 2014.
They attended the ESPY Awards in Las Vegas in July, during the middle of Jo’s pregnancy and she has also been a fixture at her husband’s boxing training sessions.
Horn’s rise from amateur boxer to World Welterweight champion is set to make him and his wife millionaires, with experts tipping he could be offered $2 million to take on Anthony Mundine.
Jeff Horn’s Brisbane high school sweetheart Jo has given birth to a baby girl, Isabelle Kate Horn
Jeff Horn had Manny Pacquiao on the ropes in the year he became a dad, with a lot of hope