Aussie boxing legend Jeff Horn reveals photo of aftermath of freak injury needing titanium plate

Former boxing world champion Jeff Horn has revealed a graphic photo of a freak injury that left him questioning his sanity as he waited for surgery to insert a titanium plate in his throat.

Horn, who fought as a 67kg welterweight, was punched in the throat with a wide left hook while sparring 85kg amateur Simon Cooper in 2016.

Former boxing world champion Jeff Horn (pictured) has revealed a graphic photo of a freak injury that left him needing a titanium plate inserted in his throat and questioning his sanity

Horn (pictured beating Anthony Mundine), who fought at welterweight, was punched in the throat with a wide left hook while sparring 85kg amateur Simon Cooper in 2016

The injury derailed the biggest fight of his career at the time, against knockout king Randall Bailey, and required the Aussie to undergo surgery at Brisbane Private Hospital.

Horn shared a post-surgery photo on his Instagram feed for the first time last week, explaining how serious the injury was.

He wrote: ‘The dangers of the sport of boxing. I fractured my throat and had surgery on the 18th of February 2016 to then fight the feared #kokingrandallbailey on the 27th of April 2016 ONLY 2 MONTHS AFTER SURGERY ���� I question my sanity.’

The injury derailed the biggest fight of his career at the time, against knockout king Randall Bailey, and required the Aussie to undergo surgery at Brisbane Private Hospital (Horn pictured in bout with Pacquiao)

Horn suffered a fracture of the thyroid cartilage during, requiring a titanium plate to be inserted into his throat.

At the time, his trainer Glenn Rushton explained that specialists agreed that surgery was the only option.

‘Without the surgery there might have been a nagging worry about what would happen if Jeff got hit on the same spot but after Jeff comes out of hospital there shouldn’t be any concerns. It will be like his whole throat is armour plated,’ said Rushton.

Two fights later, the Queensland schoolteacher shocked the world by beating Manny Pacquiao in a stunning unanimous points decision in front of 51,052 Queenslanders at Suncorp Stadium

Horn went on to defeat the hard-hitting American veteran via technical knockout after seven rounds at a sold-out Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre.

It was a comprehensive win for the Aussie, the 14th of his professional career, and established Horn as a genuine star on the rise in the fight game.

Two fights later, the Queensland schoolteacher shocked the world by beating Manny Pacquiao in a stunning unanimous points decision in front of 51,052 Queenslanders at Suncorp Stadium.

Horn pictured after knocking out Mundine in 2018

Nowadays Horn works for Bullyproof Australia, where gives talks to schools about the issues of physical and cyber bullying on kids. He has no plans of stepping into the ring again.