![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1761200708_112_poster-fallback.png\"\/)
<\/p>\n
Zerafa ‘Surprised’ Tszyu took fight | 00:47<\/p>\n
\u201cBut at the end of the day I really want to smash his head in – and I\u2019m sure he wants to do the same to me.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a funny thing, boxing. We are quite calm\u2026 but we know the inevitable future is going to be a bloody mess.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m smiling at him, but in the back of my head I\u2019m thinking that I cannot wait to hit him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve got a bit of a poker face at the moment\u2026 but at the back [of my mind] there\u2019s just evil thoughts.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018Bad Boy\u2019 Zerafa on the other hand was all smiles. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s locked in. There\u2019s no need for animosity,\u201d explained Zerafa.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll take it out in the ring. I\u2019m coming here to make a statement\u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cThe contract is there. I\u2019m not overlooking him, this motivates me. Fight night it will all be settled.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, former world champ Liam Paro was announced to be fighting Paddy Donovan in an IBF world title eliminator as the co-main event. <\/p>\n
Both boxers are highly ranked, with the Aussie at No. 2 and Donovan at No. 3.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a blessing to be back on home soil,\u201d said Paro about fighting in Brisbane.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s time to do it here. It\u2019s truly special.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aussie favourites Billy Polkinghorn, Liam Wilson and Demsey McKean were also announced as part of the stacked card.<\/p>\n
No Limit boss George Rose said he\u2019s been worried that a fight will break out between Tszyu and Zerafa while doing promotion this week.<\/p>\n
“Gotta risk it” – Tszyu on Zerafa clash | 03:12<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve spent far too much personal time together,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey nearly ended up in the same Uber together and then when we got back to the hotel they nearly ended up in the same lift together. <\/p>\n
\u201cIm standing in between the pair of them. We\u2019re going to have to sort something out\u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cIf it breaks out between these two, I don\u2019t want to be the man in the middle. That\u2019s for the pros to handle.\u201d<\/p>\n
Following the press conference, Tszyu said he heard Zerafa might be \u201ca little insecure\u201d about the bout.<\/p>\n
When asked why he will get his hand raised on January 16, Tszyu said he has more hunger than Zerafa. <\/p>\n
\u201cMichael\u2019s near the end of his career and I don\u2019t see that there\u2019s the same level of hunger,\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen it comes down to it, I\u2019m willing to go the extra mile\u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cThe hunger is going to be the driving force.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nikita Tszyu lifted the lid on the \u201cevil thoughts\u201d driving him into next year\u2019s blockbuster showdown with Michael…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":276879,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[571],"tags":[64,63,802,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-276878","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\/276878","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=276878"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/276878\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/276879"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=276878"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=276878"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=276878"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}