four years after Zerafa\u2019s much-hyped fight against Nikita\u2019s older brother Tim Tszyu sensationally collapsed<\/a>.<\/p>\nZerafa pulled the pin just days out from the proposed showdown in Newcastle in July 2021, citing border-travel concerns during Covid, prompting Tszyu\u2019s camp to blast him as a coward.<\/p>\n
That fuelled bad blood between the camps, and after four years of festering wounds, Zerafa and Nikita will settle the score once and for all.<\/p>\n
Just last Thursday, Zerafa took aim at Nikita at Pat Rafter Arena, the scene of Liam Paro\u2019s gutsy world-title eliminator win over David Papot, telling the younger Tszyu to \u201csign the contract\u201d.<\/p>\n
Now Nikita \u2014 nicknamed \u2018The Butcher \u2014 is ready to slice and dice Zerafa. <\/p>\n
The final hurdle, after months of negotiations, is the parties agreeing to a catchweight given that Zerafa fights at middleweight (160 pounds), one division above Nikita, who has campaigned at super welterweight (154 pounds).<\/p>\n
A catchweight of 71.5kg (157 pounds) has been proposed as an acceptable middle ground that will pave the way for Zerafa and Tszyu to throw down in the ultimate grudge match.<\/p>\n
The camps are also discussing a rehydration clause and second day weigh-in to bring the bout to life.<\/p>\n
It shapes as the biggest test of Nikita\u2019s fledgling career. <\/p>\n
The 27-year-old is unbeaten in 11 fights with nine brutal knockouts, but he has never faced anyone with the experience of Zerafa, a seasoned world-title challenger who has won 34 of 39 career bouts.<\/p>\n
The 33-year-old Zerafa, ranked No.6 in the world with the WBA, said he is primed to hand Tszyu the first loss of his career.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere will be a date soon and the biggest mistake he will make is signing that contract,\u201d Zerafa said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been saying it since day one, I will beat both of the Tszyus, and I truly believe I am levels above Nikita.<\/p>\n
\u201cZerafa versus Tszyu is a massive fight for Australian boxing, even people overseas are talking about it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am world-ranked, I\u2019m actually ranked higher than Tim and Nikita, so they need me to elevate their careers.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve fought multiple world champions, Nikita hasn\u2019t done that.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe proof will be in the pudding.\u201d<\/p>\n
Organisers are still finalising dates and locations. The domestic blockbuster is likely to be held in mid-to-late November, with No Limit exploring locations in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and the Gold Coast.<\/p>\n
But the one certainty is Zerafa and Tszyu will face off this year in one of Australian boxing\u2019s biggest events in two decades.<\/p>\n
Anthony Mundine\u2019s win over Danny Green at the Sydney Football Stadium in 2006 remains Australia\u2019s greatest pay-per-view blockbuster.<\/p>\n
Other major events include Jeff Horn\u2019s world-title upset of Manny Pacquiao at Suncorp Stadium in 2017, the Jeff Horn-Zerafa double header in 2019 and Tim Tszyu\u2019s mega win over Horn in Townsville in 2020 which saw him become the new golden boy of Australian boxing.<\/p>\n
The Butcher believes his desire and power will end Zerafa\u2019s career.<\/p>\n
\u201cI definitely do want the fight,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to fight a high-level calibre fighter like Michael and really cement my name in Australian sport. <\/p>\n
\u201cI have a lot of hunger. I reckon that he is at the tail end of his career he is trying to finish it in a brightish way, but I can see the path ahead of me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will prove it whenever the fight gets made. We won\u2019t be waiting too long. It will happen soon.\u201d<\/p>\n
Zerafa, Australia\u2019s No.1 middleweight, rubbished suggestions he is past his best.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe old Zerafa is back, I can fight for another five years,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have been in there with the best. Take nothing away from Nikita, he is a good fighter and I respect any opponent in the ring, but it\u2019s early in his career.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a very dumb move. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhen it comes time to fight, everyone will get a shock, but for me, I knew it all along. <\/p>\n
\u201cI will get the microphone and say, \u2018Why are you all surprised?\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cThey keep pumping Nikita up at the moment, but he isn\u2019t in my league.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Finally, the biggest feud in Australian boxing is ready to explode. Michael Zerafa\u2019s simmering rivalry with the Tszyu…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":160689,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[571],"tags":[64,63,802,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-160688","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-boxing","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-boxing","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160688","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=160688"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160688\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/160689"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=160688"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=160688"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=160688"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}