Michael Zerafa camp to protest result of Jeff Horn fight

Michael Zerafa’s camp launched an official protest late on Friday against their fighter’s loss to Jeff Horn on Wednesday night.

Jeff Horn is congratulated by Michael Zerafa at Brisbane Convention Centre on Wednesday night. Picture: Getty Images

Michael Zerafa’s camp launched an official protest late on Friday against their fighter’s loss to Jeff Horn on Wednesday night, prompting promoter Dean Lonergan to question whether their sense of aggrievement had morphed into a display of poor sportsmanship.

Lonergan was also quick to point out on Friday that Zerafa himself declared on a handful of occasions in the ring on Wednesday night that the better man had won.

With that in mind, he believes Zerafa is wasting his time and posed a question of his own – how could one of the judges score the fight a draw when most people in attendance and watching on television thought Horn had won easily.

“They obviously feel aggrieved,” Lonergan said.

“I think they are in the wrong and they are wasting their time. I think they will draw a blank. The bad stain is that it probably has connotations of bad sportsmanship about it.

“Michael said 20 times in the ring that the better man won. The better question is how could one judge score the fight a draw?”

The Zerafa camp have 10 days to appeal the fight and they hope to have it declared a no-contest, which would have the effect of protecting their fighter’s ranking.

A rematch could also be ordered, although Lonergan dismissed suggestions that a third fight could take place between the pair.

Lonergan has already begun talks with the Tim Tszyu camp and has reached out to the vice-president of Golden Boy Promotions Eric Gomez, who looks after WBO super welterweight champion Patrick Teixeira.

That won’t stop the Zerafa camp searching for the justice that they believe their fighter was deprived of at the Brisbane Convention Centre.

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Zerafa’s manager Brendan Bourke released a statement late on Friday in which he said they had watched the fight a number of times and felt compelled to appeal the decision.

At the heart of their concerns is the referee’s decision to halt the fight midway through the ninth round to check a cut above Horn’s left eye.

Horn was reeling at the time but moments after the delay, he dropped Zerafa. It is understood the Zerafa camp will raise concerns over the ringside doctor clearing blood away from Horn’s eye and applying pressure to stem the bleeding.

Zerafa was also bleeding but he was left untouched.

“If the calls to my phone since the fight are anything to go by, these concerns aren’t limited to me or the team,” Bourke said.

“Many people in the boxing community have contacted me and have raised the same issues. I don’t propose to go into detail at this stage.

“We have more than a week before we lodge the protest and we want this to be dealt with properly and we want it dealt with it respectfully to both Michael and Jeff.

“That fight on Wednesday was an absolute cracker and will go down as a classic in Australian boxing. This isn’t about Jeff Horn or his camp. It’s about the integrity of Australian boxing.

“We know the Horn camp would do the same thing and we’ve informed them of our decision to lodge the protest.

“It’s not a decision we’ve taken lightly but at the end of the day, this is about making sure Michael (Zerafa) does not lose the opportunities he has worked hard for as a professional athlete in circumstances that should never have eventuated in a professional boxing environment.

“If a rematch is ordered, that’s what we will do. If the fight is determined a no-contest then we’ll look for other and better opportunities for Michael. But let’s get this issue sorted before we look to the future.”