{"id":422186,"date":"2026-01-19T00:08:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-19T00:08:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/422186\/"},"modified":"2026-01-19T00:08:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-19T00:08:09","slug":"the-forgotten-reality-before-michael-zerafa-quit-nikita-tszyu-fight-reaction-next-fight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/422186\/","title":{"rendered":"The forgotten reality before Michael Zerafa quit Nikita Tszyu fight, reaction, next fight"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Australian boxing scene was left reeling on Friday night after Michael Zerafa\u2019s controversial clash with Nikita Tszyu<\/a> \u2013 and it didn\u2019t take long for the pros to wade in.<\/p>\n

UFC 324: Gaethje vs Pimblett | SUN 25 JAN 1PM AEDT | Justin Gaethje faces Paddy Pimblett for the interim lightweight championship. | Order Now with Main Event on Kayo Sports.<\/a><\/p>\n

The blockbuster grudge match ended in a bitter anticlimax at Brisbane\u2019s Entertainment Centre when referee Chris Condon waved the bout off at the start of the third round on the advice of the ringside doctor.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

What was meant to be a statement night descended into chaos after Zerafa declared he couldn\u2019t see after suffering a cut above his eye, prompting officials to pull the plug.<\/p>\n

In the moments after the stoppage, Zerafa claimed he had told the doctor his vision was blurry but insisted he wanted to continue fighting.<\/p>\n

Footage of the exchange, however, appeared to tell a different story, showing Zerafa twice saying, \u201cI can\u2019t see.\u201d <\/p>\n

Ringside doctor Dr Alan Saunders confirmed on Saturday that Zerafa had indeed told him he couldn\u2019t see – on two separate occasions.<\/p>\n

The fallout has been swift.<\/p>\n

Over the weekend, former fighters have weighed in on the contentious finish and what the controversy means for \u2018Pretty Boy\u2019s\u2019 future in the sport.<\/p>\n

On Sunday, former world champion Barry Michael said it was a tough night for the sport Down Under and added that the forgotten element in it all was that Zerafa had actually started well.<\/p>\n

\u201cVery unfortunate for boxing, the whole thing,\u201d he told fight reporter Jai McAllister.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought Zerafa landed some good shots in the first round but Nikita wore them well and was working Zerafa out\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cThe issue with the headclash, there was very little blood and unfortunately for Michael he did say that he couldn\u2019t see and then he denied it five minutes later.\u201d<\/p>\n

MORE BOXING NEWS<\/p>\n

\u2018DON\u2019T WANT TO ANSWER THAT\u2019: Zerafa faces life ban as boxing future up in the air<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2018NOT SHAKING YOUR HAND\u2019: Tim in fiery Zerafa clash as boxing world slams \u2018cowardly act\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

Chaos erupts after controversial ending | 09:58<\/p>\n

When asked about Zerafa\u2019s actions in the ring, Michael didn\u2019t hold back.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt makes him look bloody stupid, to be honest,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very unfortunate. Maybe he was confused in the situation\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cThe doctor had no choice but to stop it. It\u2019s just a terrible blow for boxing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat does Michael Zerafa do from here? Who would promote him? What promoter would want to promote him?\u201d<\/p>\n

Michael, who was at the event, described the scenes afterwards as almost chaotic.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think people would go to a rematch, to be honest,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho is going to want to see a rematch?\u201d<\/p>\n

The Aussie boxing icon also said he was concerned about Zerafa\u2019s mental health in the wake of the incident.<\/p>\n

Fellow former world champion Danny Green said he was disappointed by the scenes in Queensland.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt takes a split second to quit, but it\u2019s a decision he\u2019ll have to live with for the rest of his life,\u201d Green told Code Sports<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you say you\u2019re prepared to go out on your shield, and you simply do not do that, you\u2019ve gotta live with it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a hard one for me, because more than anything, I prided myself on being tough.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo when I see that, it upsets me.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt shits me if I\u2019m being honest.\u201d<\/p>\n

‘I didn’t stop it’ Zerafa | 00:59<\/p>\n

Kickboxing and boxing legend John Wayne Parr, who has had more than 346 stitches in his head across his career, was equally unimpressed.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter watching the main event tonight, [I\u2019m] not sure what happened to our fighting Aussie spirit,\u201d he posted on X. <\/p>\n

\u201cQuitting was once frowned upon and your trainers [would be] embarrassed to be in your corner.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I would get cut I would beg the referee to let me keep fighting. Giving up wasn\u2019t an option.<\/p>\n

\u201cFunny part tonight, after everyone had spent their money to watch Michael Zerafa fight, he didn\u2019t understand why they were booing him after he gave up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zerafa explodes in WILD post fight rant | 03:24<\/p>\n

Former champ Billy Dib also weighed in.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat a joke,\u201d he posted on X.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnyone who gives Zerafa another chance to rob the public is kidding themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Zerafa claimed on Saturday morning he had suffered a shattered eye socket and damaged retina during the bout.<\/p>\n

He posted a video to Instagram showing his swollen eye and said he spent the night in hospital \u2013 but has yet to provide further details on the injury.<\/p>\n

Tszyu, meanwhile, broke his silence on social media on Sunday, thanking his supporters and apologising that the grudge match ended in disappointment rather than fireworks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Australian boxing scene was left reeling on Friday night after Michael Zerafa\u2019s controversial clash with Nikita Tszyu…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":422187,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[571],"tags":[64,63,802,85],"class_list":["post-422186","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boxing","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-boxing","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/422186","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=422186"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/422186\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/422187"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=422186"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=422186"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=422186"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}