‘I don’t like it’: Jeff Horn’s mum opens up

The mother of Australia’s new world champion boxer has opened up about her mixed emotions at watching her son become a global sensation.

Jeff Horn, a former school teacher, upstaged Filipino champion Manny Pacquiao in front of more than 52,000 people at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium to become the welterweight champion.

Mum, Liza Dykstra, admitted it wasn’t fun to watch.

“I don’t like it, I don’t think any mother would like that,” she told Tony Jones.

“But the only thing that gets me through is I think through my head ‘This is what he wants’.”

Ms Dykstra told 3AW why boxing started as more than just a sport for Horn.

“He wanted to protect himself and realised he was very good at boxing,” she said.

“He was 16. I think he thought ‘I’m not going to let that (bullying) happen to me again.”

Click PLAY at the top of the page to hear the full interview with Jeff’s mum