Australia’s boxing bad boy Michael Zerafa has mysteriously failed to front for what was expected to be an explosive press conference showdown with Nikita Tszyu – and only 24 hours after accusing The Butcher of embarrassing his Hall of Fame father Kostya.
Nikita Tszyu vs Lulzim Ismaili | Wednesday 20 August 7PM AEST | Order this PPV event now with Main Event on Kayo Sports.
In a surprise move that has revived memories of his famed 2021 walkout against Tim Tszyu, Zerafa has decided to boycott the Sydney press conference for Wednesday night’s stacked No Limit pay-per-view.
While Pretty Boy has already flown into the Harbour City for a card being topped by bouts including himself, Nikita Tszyu and Brock Jarvis, promoter George Rose revealed at the start of proceedings that Zerafa wouldn’t be attending.
It comes as both the fighter and the younger Tszyu sibling are expected to use the card to springboard into a massive domestic grudge match in December, the continuation of a longtime feud between the Melburnian and Australia’s most famous fight family.
On Wednesday night, world ranked middleweight Zerafa takes on American Mikey Dahlman (18-1), while Tszyu headlines against undefeated European prospect Lulzim Ismaili (12-0).
Should they both win, No Limit are keen to have the two rivals square off in a stadium show.
Yet while Tszyu, Ismaili and Dahlman were all present for the media event , No Limit boss Rose was unable to shed any light on the reasons behind Zerafa’s absence.
‘Not the greatest… It’s still healing’ | 03:34
Monday’s drama isn’t the first time Zerafa has failed to show for promoters No Limit, having famously walked out on what was so supposed to be a hyped 2021 all-Australian showdown with former world champion Tim Tszyu.
Zerafa has already said that rather than fighting Nikita before Christmas, he would also prefer to go straight into a bout with the former world champ, who has now lost three title fights in America.
Elsewhere, the no show also follows a week of headlines between Zerafa and Tszyu, with the latter having branded him an attention-seeking “coward”.
In response, Zerafa said Nikita’s increasingly weird antics were disgracing the family legacy created by his father.
While Rose refused to be drawn on the reasons for the absence of his co-main fighter, the promoter stressed that he expects the world ranked middleweight to be in attendance for Tuesday’s weigh-ins.
Over the weekend, Zerafa told Fox Sports Australia that the increasingly bizarre headlines surrounding Nikita Tszyu – which include eating his wife’s placenta and drinking her breast milk – were an embarrassment to everything his old man had achieved in the ring.