Michael Zerafa to fight on Paul Gallen v Justin Hodges undercard
Michael Zerafa’s withdrawal from his high profile fight with Tim Tszyu in 2021 was a bombshell for boxing, but why did it happen?Zerafa finally reveals the truth.
Boxing/MMA
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The deaths of two close friends. A career-altering defeat. One of the most embarrassing pullouts in Australian sport. The loss of his team.
Many things could have derailed Michael Zerafa.
Instead, here he is, back on Australian boxing’s premier pay-per-view platform Main Event, with the country’s biggest promoters No Limit, in a move many thought impossible after he withdrew from his 2021 fight against Tim Tszyu one week before showtime.
Zerafa says he was misled by his former team on key details of the fight arrangements, and has since parted company with them, allowing him to sit with No Limit bosses George and Matt Rose and sort out their differences, paving the way for him to fight Danilo Creati on the undercard of Paul Gallen’s farewell fight against Justin Hodges on November 23 in Sydney’s Darling Harbour.
“It’s been tough, mentally I struggled,” Zerafa said.
“The Dwight Ritchie stuff, having to bury him, I shared the ring thousands of times with him.”
Ritchie died after collapsing during a sparring session with Zerafa in 2019.
“Then having to bury my good mate Shane Tuck, who took his own life,” Zerafa said of the Richmond AFL star who had developed severe CTE in his brain.
“Then to go through the loss to Jeff Horn in the rematch, then going through the Tim Tszyu stuff, which for two years, even to this day, I cop it – for something that wasn’t even my fault.”
Zerafa has severed ties with the team that convinced him to withdraw from that bout.
“I’ve seen out my contract, which was the right thing to do,” he said.
“I had no idea what was going on, I was just getting instructions.
“And then I had to go through hell, by myself.
“The Rose brothers are understanding guys, we came to a mutual agreement that it wasn’t actually my fault, and everyone deserves a second chance, so I’m grateful.”
No Limit chief executive George Rose said: “Being able to talk about what happened, we were able to talk about what went wrong and we are not going to hold a grudge against people.
“Boxing is a hard sport, every aspect of this sport is tough, I understand that and respect that.
“We’ve got the platform, and we want to showcase the best talent, whether you love them or hate them.”
Zerafa said his support network helped him get through.
“My partner [Selin Ozturk] and my circle being very small, my friends, and just my self-belief being a world champion,” he said.
“I sometimes like the struggle, it brings the best out of you. But there were days where it would’ve been easier to throw the towel in.
“It’s been hard, I just had to surround myself with good people and lay low. I knew eventually it would pass, but just when was the question.
“A bad day only lasts 24 hours, so like the wind, I just had to flow.
“I’m here today, I’m No.1 in the WBA, top five in the world at middleweight, No.1 in my country for consecutive years, fought five or six world champions, I’m living the dream.
“But there have been some very dark times for me and I definitely struggled.
“Some days I question myself or my ability. But while I’m doing that, I’m driving to the gym.
“I reckon it’s been 10 years plus since I had a rest day.
“I can’t remember the last time I woke up and said, ‘I’m going to sit in bed, or just chill out’. Not once. I remember I was in hospital, I worked out the nursing system, and as soon as they left I’d go to the bottom of the stairs and run up and down to get my legs working.
“I’d do that two or three times a day, 20 minutes each time, just so I wasn’t resting.
“I’m always pushing myself, my body, my mind, emotionally. That’s how I’ve been successful.”
While Zerafa is set to be the primary undercard fighter, there is a chance he could be elevated to main event status after Gallen threatened to withdraw from the fight against Hodges over the round timings.
Gallen said he will only fight six three-minute rounds, while Hodges wants two-minute rounds.
Rose said he hadn’t settled on the format, leading Gallen to claim he will cancel the fight if three-minute rounds aren’t confirmed by the end of this week.
GALLEN’S SHOCK ZERAFA ANNOUNCEMENT
Fifteen months after the most controversial backflip in Australian boxing history, Michael Zerafa will return to Main Event on a No Limit Boxing show, featuring on the undercard of the Paul Gallen versus Justin Hodges bout on November 23.
It is a remarkable turn of events, given the fury No Limit expressed after Zerafa withdrew from the much-hyped fight against Tim Tszyu in July last year, at the time vowing he’d never be given another opportunity again.
Zerafa, who had also previously expressed frustration that Gallen was getting more media attention than lifelong boxers, was banned by Fox Sports following the Tszyu saga and had had his two ensuing fights streamed on independent websites.
Gallen would have had the option of trying to get Zerafa banned from his retirement fight.
The Melbourne fighter said the former NRL star shouldn’t be getting the traction he receives in the media, declaring last year: “It just looks stupid. You’ve got legitimate fighters like myself, Tszyu, [Jeff] Horn, people who are professional fighters, and he’s fighting six two-minute rounds.
“He picks what he wants, picks who he wants, and he’s getting mainstream media. It’s just disappointing.”
However, Gallen welcomed the opportunity to revive Zerafa’s profile.
“If I can help promote him, I’m more than happy to, I hope to do my best for boxing and if it’s going to help Zerafa take that next step and get another couple of fights and make good money, I’m happy to do it,” Gallen said.
“I’ve been around boxing for the last eight years, I understand the amount of effort these guys put in, but that’s not my fault.
“It’s just the way it is. Ask anyone who knows who Michael Zerafa is, and ask anyone who Tom Trbojevic or Jake Trbojevic is, nine out of 10 know who the Trbojevic’s are because they’re superstars.
“Boxing is a minuscule sport in this country, that’s just the way it is, that’s not my fault, I can’t change it, I’ve done my best to promote the sport.
Things got HEATED between Michael Zerafa and Issac Hardman before their fight. 😳
— Telegraph Sport (@telegraph_sport) April 19, 2022
*language warning*
(🎥: amazonwarriorau/IG) pic.twitter.com/9TlbD2AVNf
“I know I’ve done nothing wrong by boxing, and guys who have embraced what I can bring have benefited, no doubt about that, look at Tim Tszyu, Harry Garside has jumped on the cards, Sam Goodman.
“All these guys have embraced it, and rather than fighting at RSL clubs in front of 500 people they might fight in front of 5000 people and tens of thousands watching on TV.
“He’s a pure boxer, I understand the frustration these pure boxers have at times when a cross-code athlete comes in, but he’s doing the best for himself and I’m doing the best for myself.
“I’m not worried about him, I’m just worried about getting the win in my final ever fight, my last time as a professional athlete.”
The world-rated middleweight Zerafa is set to fight undefeated Danilo Creati.
Gallen, 41, will have a rematch with Hodges in Sydney in what he’s vowed will be his final fight, and revealed he was convinced of retirement after losing a unanimous decision to Kris Terzievksi for the Australian heavyweight title in May.
“I know I’m finished, I’ve got no issues as far as retiring. I’ve felt like this for a while, since the 10th round of the Terzievski fight,” Gallen said.
“My manager Pete Mitrevski told me ‘You don’t get old between fights, you get old between rounds’. I really felt that in the Terzievski fight, I was coming out in round 10 to finish him off after what I did in round nine.
“I went into round 10 thinking it was going to happen, and I just couldn’t make it happen, I just got old.
“That was the most daunting time of my entire career, rugby league or boxing, that was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to face, it was quite confronting to be honest.
“I was doing my best to win the Australian title, physically pushing as hard as I could, but I just couldn’t get there.”
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Originally published as Michael Zerafa to fight on Paul Gallen v Justin Hodges undercard
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