Tszyu Baffled By Zerafa's Withdrawal, Fenech Feels He Got Spooked
Junior middleweight contender Michael Zerafa is under heavy fire after withdrawing from his scheduled fight with Australian superstar Tim Tszyu.
The bout was set for July 7 in Newcastle, but Zerafa and his handlers refused to get on the plane due to the latest COVID outbreak and Zerafa did not want to quarantine upon returning to Melbourne.
Zerafa, who complained for years that he was being avoided by Tszyu, was quickly replaced by Steve Spark.
Jeff Fenech — a former three-division world champion — believes Zerafa got spooked after talking trash about Tszyu's father, Kostya Tszyu. Zerafa poked fun at Kostya's career-ending stoppage loss at the hands of Ricky Hatton.
At a recent face-off, Tim Tszyu became furious when Zerafa brought up the topic.
“Maybe he saw something in Timmy’s eyes when he mentioned his dad,” Fenech told Sporting News.
“I saw something. I saw something that scared me that day. I’m serious. It was opposite to when Paul Gallen said something about Justis Huni’s dad - there was no reaction. But Tim Tszyu went berserk. I saw it.”
Tszyu rejects the explanation by Zerafa and seems to side with Fenech's position on the matter - that Zerafa's demeanor changed at their recent face-off.
“I don’t think the story [presented by Zerafa] has any truth to it. It doesn’t make sense,” says Tszyu to Fox Sports.
“Maybe it’s the prep(aration) he had – some issues there. He’s a fighter – he fought Kell Brook – so it’s hard to believe he’s just scared. The whole thing has just blown me away.
“He was definitely rattled [at our recent face-off]. My reaction was cold and he didn’t like that. He backed down straight away but surely that wasn’t enough to scare him away. I don’t think so anyway.”
Fenech believes Spark is very dangerous and expects him to present a tougher challenge for Tszyu than Zerafa would have.
“This is a sight Tim has to be wary of,” Fenech said.
“You’ve gotta be so careful with these guys who believe in themselves, can punch and will step in and take on anyone. It’ll be tougher than what Zerafa would’ve been. If he’s been training, it’ll be a much tougher fight. This is a fight Tim’s really gotta be careful of. Don’t think it’s just a fill-in, he’s gotta think twice as hard for it. It’s a whole different thing a week before a fight.
“He’s gotta watch Stevie Spark and give him respect. He can punch and he’s not scared to fight anyone. They’re the ones you’ve gotta be scared of. He’s gonna go in saying, ‘I’m either gonna knock out, or I’m getting knocked out.”
Tim Tszyu vs. Michael Zerafa - Who wins?
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Re: Tim Tszyu vs. Michael Zerafa - July 7, 2021 (OFF)
Zerafa Shifts Blame on Tim Tszyu: He Didn't Really Want This Fight
Junior middleweight contender Michael Zerafa had lashed out at his domestic rival, Australian superstar Tim Tszyu.
They were scheduled to fight in a grudge match last week in Newcastle.
However, Zerafa withdrew from the fight - claiming he was promised exemptions to the COVID-19 restrictions that would have allowed his team to fly in and out of without needing to quarantine upon returning home.
Tszyu went forward with the event and faced a very late-replacement in Steve Spark - who was knocked out in three rounds.
Tszyu is now moving on to well-known contenders from the United States - with no interest in dealing with Zerara again.
According to Zerafa, when the exemptions for his team were not delivered, he would have been forced to travel over to the fight without the majority of his team.
“No fighter does that in the biggest fight of Australian boxing,” Zerafa told The Age and the Herald.
Zerafa explains that his team is made up of small business owners who can't afford to spend two weeks in quarantine.
However, many critics have said that Zerafa has way too many team members and this was the biggest fight of his career - one that he was actively pursuing for quite some time.
“We told Tim Tszyu, come down here and fight, and he said no because of COVID. You can’t expect Tim Tszyu to come down here with no [manager] Glen Jennings and no [grandfather] Boris. He didn’t come to his press conference in Melbourne and used COVID as an excuse. It just shows they really didn’t want this fight," Zerafa said.
“To me it didn’t matter to me if I quarantined or not, but in my team there were 12 to 15 members that played a huge role in my fight that just couldn’t afford it. People have building companies, panel beating companies, a lot that run their own businesses that couldn’t financially afford it.
“We said that to Matt Rose and Team Tszyu and they said, ‘no worries, we’ll deliver exemptions and permits so you don’t get stuck’. Five or six weeks passed, nothing was delivered, and the week of the fight we had a meeting with Tszyu’s team … they promised the world and delivered nothing.”
But, Tszyu and his team are not buying it. They believe Zerafa chickened out.
“We knew from the moment he looked Tim in the eyes at the press conference and went quiet that he never wanted this fight,” CEO of No Limit Boxing George Rose said at the time.
Zerafa strongly disagrees with any claim that he fabricated excuses in order to run away from the fight.
“I’ve invested three years in getting this fight, time and money,” Zerafa said.
“I’ve been back and forward to Sydney, crashing fights to make it clear I want to fight him, to then pull out a week later? Why would I go through all this effort with a huge pay day not to rock up? There’s two sides to every story. [The criticism] has been definitely disheartening but the people that know me know what I’m all about. And people who know boxing know full stop I never shy away from a fight and I never will."
Junior middleweight contender Michael Zerafa had lashed out at his domestic rival, Australian superstar Tim Tszyu.
They were scheduled to fight in a grudge match last week in Newcastle.
However, Zerafa withdrew from the fight - claiming he was promised exemptions to the COVID-19 restrictions that would have allowed his team to fly in and out of without needing to quarantine upon returning home.
Tszyu went forward with the event and faced a very late-replacement in Steve Spark - who was knocked out in three rounds.
Tszyu is now moving on to well-known contenders from the United States - with no interest in dealing with Zerara again.
According to Zerafa, when the exemptions for his team were not delivered, he would have been forced to travel over to the fight without the majority of his team.
“No fighter does that in the biggest fight of Australian boxing,” Zerafa told The Age and the Herald.
Zerafa explains that his team is made up of small business owners who can't afford to spend two weeks in quarantine.
However, many critics have said that Zerafa has way too many team members and this was the biggest fight of his career - one that he was actively pursuing for quite some time.
“We told Tim Tszyu, come down here and fight, and he said no because of COVID. You can’t expect Tim Tszyu to come down here with no [manager] Glen Jennings and no [grandfather] Boris. He didn’t come to his press conference in Melbourne and used COVID as an excuse. It just shows they really didn’t want this fight," Zerafa said.
“To me it didn’t matter to me if I quarantined or not, but in my team there were 12 to 15 members that played a huge role in my fight that just couldn’t afford it. People have building companies, panel beating companies, a lot that run their own businesses that couldn’t financially afford it.
“We said that to Matt Rose and Team Tszyu and they said, ‘no worries, we’ll deliver exemptions and permits so you don’t get stuck’. Five or six weeks passed, nothing was delivered, and the week of the fight we had a meeting with Tszyu’s team … they promised the world and delivered nothing.”
But, Tszyu and his team are not buying it. They believe Zerafa chickened out.
“We knew from the moment he looked Tim in the eyes at the press conference and went quiet that he never wanted this fight,” CEO of No Limit Boxing George Rose said at the time.
Zerafa strongly disagrees with any claim that he fabricated excuses in order to run away from the fight.
“I’ve invested three years in getting this fight, time and money,” Zerafa said.
“I’ve been back and forward to Sydney, crashing fights to make it clear I want to fight him, to then pull out a week later? Why would I go through all this effort with a huge pay day not to rock up? There’s two sides to every story. [The criticism] has been definitely disheartening but the people that know me know what I’m all about. And people who know boxing know full stop I never shy away from a fight and I never will."
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Re: Tim Tszyu vs. Michael Zerafa - July 7, 2021 (OFF)
Michael Zerafa REJECTS offer to fight arch rival Tim Tszyu in $2.5MILLION mega-fight as Pretty Boy labels middleweight champion a 'DEAD SALMON'
The hostility between Tim Tszyu and Michael Zerafa is showing no sign of relenting after secret talks for a $2.5million mega-fight broke down this week.
Tszyu's promoter, Matt Rose of No Limit Boxing, has blasted Zerafa and accused the Melbournian of avoiding his fighter once again after his team rejected the opportunity to fight for the Australian's world championship next month.
However, Zerafa's manager insists his fighter did not receive an offer from No Limit Boxing and labelled Tszyu a 'dead salmon' when it comes to promotion as his man prepares for his own world title shot later this year.
According to News Corp, American powerhouse promoters Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) made an offer to the Zerafa camp for Pretty Boy to get in the ring with his bitter rival next month.
Tszyu, who beat Tony Harrison last month to win the interim WBO super welterwight title, is looking for a tune up fight ahead of his unification clash with Jermell Charlo later this year.
The hostility between Tim Tszyu and Michael Zerafa is showing no sign of relenting after secret talks for a $2.5million mega-fight broke down this week.
Tszyu's promoter, Matt Rose of No Limit Boxing, has blasted Zerafa and accused the Melbournian of avoiding his fighter once again after his team rejected the opportunity to fight for the Australian's world championship next month.
However, Zerafa's manager insists his fighter did not receive an offer from No Limit Boxing and labelled Tszyu a 'dead salmon' when it comes to promotion as his man prepares for his own world title shot later this year.
According to News Corp, American powerhouse promoters Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) made an offer to the Zerafa camp for Pretty Boy to get in the ring with his bitter rival next month.
Tszyu, who beat Tony Harrison last month to win the interim WBO super welterwight title, is looking for a tune up fight ahead of his unification clash with Jermell Charlo later this year.
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Re: Tim Tszyu vs. Michael Zerafa - Who wins?
Michael Zerafa Says His Fight With Tim Tszyu “Will Happen” In 2025
Tim Tszyu, who is in a bad place right now due to his crushing defeat at the hands of Bakhram Murtazaliev, already has a possible comeback fight in the offing. A fight with fellow Australian warrior Michael Zerafa “will happen” some time next year, Zerafa has told Fox Sports Australia, with Zerafa also having a dig at Tszyu, 24-2(17) by stating that “he’s nothing like his father.”
Tszyu, beaten now twice on the spin, by Sebastian Fundora and by Murtazaliev, has been “found out,” Zerafa said. And the all-Aussie fight “has to happen, and it will happen.”
“I can tell you exactly what happened, Tim Tszyu has been found out,” Zerafa said on the big upset that took place on Saturday night in Florida. “I’ve been saying for a long time the guy isn’t who everyone thinks he is. But Tszyu, he has a great hype team around him. And he believed it. He believed his own hype and he got found out. As you can see now, he’s nothing like his father. He came into this fight saying he was going to fight Canelo. Tim was fighting a genuine world champion and he overlooked him. My phone, it’s been blowing up. People haven’t stopped calling. Behind the scenes there was already talk that if I won against Nikita [Tszyu], then I got Tim. But there was also talk that if Tim got beat (by Murtazaliev), I went straight to him. So our fight, it has to happen now. It will happen, too.”
And all of a sudden, a fight between Tszyu and Zerafa, which could take place at a catch weight, is pretty much a 50-50 affair. Can Tszyu bounce back from his three round loss, or might Zerafa, 32-5(20), who has been in the ring with the likes of Kell Brook, Jeff Horn, and Erislandy Lara, hand Tszyu his third loss?
It’s a big fight in Australia, and as a comeback fight for Tsyzu, a fight with Zerafa would/will be a big risk, but one he may well end up taking. Zerafa has been stopped twice, and he is coming off a stoppage win over Tommy Browne, who he stopped via corner retirement in August.
Tim Tszyu, who is in a bad place right now due to his crushing defeat at the hands of Bakhram Murtazaliev, already has a possible comeback fight in the offing. A fight with fellow Australian warrior Michael Zerafa “will happen” some time next year, Zerafa has told Fox Sports Australia, with Zerafa also having a dig at Tszyu, 24-2(17) by stating that “he’s nothing like his father.”
Tszyu, beaten now twice on the spin, by Sebastian Fundora and by Murtazaliev, has been “found out,” Zerafa said. And the all-Aussie fight “has to happen, and it will happen.”
“I can tell you exactly what happened, Tim Tszyu has been found out,” Zerafa said on the big upset that took place on Saturday night in Florida. “I’ve been saying for a long time the guy isn’t who everyone thinks he is. But Tszyu, he has a great hype team around him. And he believed it. He believed his own hype and he got found out. As you can see now, he’s nothing like his father. He came into this fight saying he was going to fight Canelo. Tim was fighting a genuine world champion and he overlooked him. My phone, it’s been blowing up. People haven’t stopped calling. Behind the scenes there was already talk that if I won against Nikita [Tszyu], then I got Tim. But there was also talk that if Tim got beat (by Murtazaliev), I went straight to him. So our fight, it has to happen now. It will happen, too.”
And all of a sudden, a fight between Tszyu and Zerafa, which could take place at a catch weight, is pretty much a 50-50 affair. Can Tszyu bounce back from his three round loss, or might Zerafa, 32-5(20), who has been in the ring with the likes of Kell Brook, Jeff Horn, and Erislandy Lara, hand Tszyu his third loss?
It’s a big fight in Australia, and as a comeback fight for Tsyzu, a fight with Zerafa would/will be a big risk, but one he may well end up taking. Zerafa has been stopped twice, and he is coming off a stoppage win over Tommy Browne, who he stopped via corner retirement in August.
Re: Tim Tszyu vs. Michael Zerafa - Who wins?
Wait, why is a comeback fight against Zerafa a “big risk?” What are Zerafa’s big wins? A KO of blown up, face first welterweight Jeff Horn (which Horn later avenged) five years ago, or his KO of 65-year-old Anthony Mundine more than three years ago? Zerafa lasted two rounds against Lara in his most recent legitimate fight. If Tsyzu doesn’t KO him within five rounds he should retire. And he’ll make a ton of money in what should be a safe fight, so it doesn’t seem risky unless he is totally shot, which hopefully he’s not
Re: Tim Tszyu vs. Michael Zerafa - Who wins?
I just posted my thoughts re Tim on the Australian topic.
Zerafa doesn’t deserve a shot or the pay day. But I suppose it will be a reasonably pay day for Tim and should be a quick fight. I’d rather see Nikita v Michael.
Zerafa doesn’t deserve a shot or the pay day. But I suppose it will be a reasonably pay day for Tim and should be a quick fight. I’d rather see Nikita v Michael.