Boxer Michael Zerafa slams Tim Tszyu’s win over Steven Spark, still wants showdown with Australian rival

Michael Zerafa has given his side of the story on his reported no-show against Tim Tszyu, adamant he still wants to fight his bitter rival.

Michael Zerafa insists he still wants to fight Tim Tszyu. Picture: Tony Gough

Michael Zerafa has angrily rejected claims he pulled out of this month’s bout with Tim Tszyu, insisting he was replaced and still wants a showdown with his Australian rival.

The Melbourne middleweight star copped a barrage of criticism after he was accused of ‘chickening out’ of his scheduled fight with Tszyu in Newcastle on July 7.

He was replaced at the last minute by Brisbane’s Steven Spark, who Tszyu stopped in the third round with Zerafa watching on from home.

“That fight was a joke, Spark came out in the first round and messed him up and walloped him,” Zerafa said.

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Michael Zerafa insists he still wants to fight Tim Tszyu. Picture: Tony Gough

“If that was me, there would have been dramas for Tim.

“That was the night I was going to shut everybody up and his team knew that.

“That fight just made me more confident in beating him.

“When he gets enough balls to accept my challenge and not come up with stupid excuses, the fight will happen.”

Zerafa was cast as the villain when the fight didn’t go ahead, but he said there was a lot more to the story.

He claimed promised exemptions to Covid restrictions that would have allowed his team to fly in and out of NSW without needing to quarantine upon return to Victoria were not delivered.

He said he then proposed the fight happen in Melbourne, but that offer was rejected due to restrictions.

“We never pulled out of the fight and that’s something I want everyone to know,” Zerafa said.

The Tim Tszyu v Michael Zerafa never went ahead. Picture: Getty Images

“We told Tim Tszyu ‘come down here and fight in Melbourne’ and I bet he wouldn’t come down here without (manager) Glen Jennings and (his grandfather) Boris.

“He wasn’t going to come down with no support, so why would they expect me to go up there with nobody?

“Tim was supposed to have a press conference here in Melbourne a week prior on the Monday and his excuse was the virus.

“A lot was promised and nothing was delivered.

“We never pulled out of the fight.

“We said ‘if you can’t deliver what we’re asking and what you had promised and what we signed for, then do you want to postpone it until everything is clear so we can have a clear run?’

“They said ‘give us two hours’ and within two hours we were replaced.”

Zerafa claimed he lost out on ‘over $200,000’ in earnings when the scheduled fight did not proceed.

“They told me to fly up the morning of the fight on the Wednesday to fight and then fly myself back on the same night,” he said.

Tszyu demolished Zerafa’s replacement, Stevie Spark. Picture: Getty Images

“And with no team, no exemptions, no neutral judges.

“I said ‘I don’t understand, there’s a contract in place for a reason. Why would you send us one if you’re not going to comply with anything?’

“I’ve been all around the world and fought seven world champions and the biggest names in boxing in their backyards in worse conditions, so why wouldn’t I fight Tim Tszyu?

“It was more money and closer travel, but having said that I need a team.”

Zerafa, who has a record of 28-4 (17 KOs), denied any suggestion he’d hurt his career as a result of the messy debacle.

“I’ve had people say ‘your career is done’ but it hasn’t even started,” he said.

“We’ve got big things in the pipeline and we’re excited.

“We’ve got good offers overseas, but we’ve also got a few people we want to shut up in Australia.

“I want the Tim Tszyu fight, the Issac Hardman fight is there and I’m leaving it to my team and we’re in heavy negotiations at the moment

I’m just training hard waiting for my phone to ring.”