Order Now with Main Event on Kayo Sports.<\/a><\/p>\nThe Melburnian is also keen to get straight into action with the new promoter, agreeing to appear as the co-main on Matchroom\u2019s upcoming Gold Coast card on August 12 card — which will be headlined by undefeated Australian heavyweight prospect Teremoana Teremoana.<\/p>\n
While no opponent has yet been named for Zerafa, Teremoana will face American knockout artist DeAndre Savage.<\/p>\n
Zerafa also revealed that, during contract discussions, Hearn had stated how a rematch between himself and Nikita seemed obvious following all the drama surrounding their initial \u2018No Contest\u2019 in January.<\/p>\n
And given Matchroom has now struck up a new Australian broadcasting deal, which includes promoting seven live shows Down Under across a year, Zerafa suggested another crack at Tszyu could also be part of a blueprint that also includes him getting one more world title shot.<\/p>\n
Asked about the new Matchroom deal on Monday, Zerafa cackled: \u201cEddie Hearn has said \u2018the bad boy of Australian boxing is back\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd personally, I can\u2019t wait.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I\u2019m a fighter who always turns heads. Yes, sometimes it\u2019s good, sometimes it\u2019s bad, but we make noise and now I have one more run at a world title \u2026 this is my last chance and I\u2019m ready to prove that I\u2019m not done.<\/p>\n
\u201cReady to show that one bad night isn\u2019t going to define my career.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know more recently, some people have forgotten the things I\u2019ve achieved in this sport, forgotten the people I\u2019ve fought.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo I want to come onto this new platform and make a statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m the A side now.<\/p>\n
“I f***ing bashed all his fighters” | 00:59<\/p>\n
\u201cI first worked with Eddie Hearn against Kell Brook and we\u2019ve always kept in contact. And now again Matchroom are promising me fireworks and I can\u2019t wait.\u201d<\/p>\n
Back in January, Zerafa made headlines after his all-Australian blockbuster against Nikita Tszyu was sensationally stopped in only the third round \u2013 and after the Melburnian revealed to a ringside physician that he was unable to see after an accidental head clash.<\/p>\n
Zerafa confirmed he and Hearn had discussed the incident during negotiations.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd first thing Eddie said to me was \u2018that happens all the time\u2019,\u201d Zerafa said of the fight being stopped over a cut. \u201cHe then went on to say how all these different fighters have been cut like that and how, if anything, it should\u2019ve built for a much bigger fight between myself and Nikita.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut unfortunately, people just didn\u2019t put the fight straight back on. They played around with the rematch idea too long. There were a lot of games, a lot of publicity stunts, things that shouldn\u2019t have been done. And I wasn\u2019t waiting around …\u201d<\/p>\n
However, given Hearn has already confirmed interest in working with No Limit under his new Australian deal, including a potential 5V5 showdown between stables, Zerafa agreed a rematch could still take place in the next year. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere is unfinished business between Nikita and I, of course,\u201d he shrugged. \u201cAnd personally, I\u2019ve always felt like the rematch could be huge <\/p>\n
\u201cSo listen, you never say never.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd if moving forward it makes sense, I\u2019m sure both of us will take it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Paro overcomes Crocker for world title | 05:30<\/p>\n
Elsewhere, Zerafa also explained why he believes Tim Tszyu can finish Spence in their own Sydney showdown later this month.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m in Tim Tszyu\u2019s corner,\u201d Zerafa stressed of his longtime rival. \u201cWhich may sound crazy, I know.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut if we aren\u2019t fighting, as a fellow Aussie I want him to win. It\u2019s that simple.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo I am hoping Tim goes out there and makes a statement in this fight. And I really believe he can.<\/p>\n
\u201cErrol Spence is obviously a bad man. And I\u2019m a big fan.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I think with Tim now being trained by Jeff Fenech, in this fight that will play a key role.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know some people are saying it\u2019s a bad move, but I disagree. I think structurally, Jeff will have the right game plan up his sleeve \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
And as for as the fight itself?<\/p>\n
\u201cFirst four rounds will be close and competitive,\u201d Zerafa continued. \u201cBut with Tim\u2019s pressure and activity I think he gets the win.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd if the Tim Tszyu rocks up that fought against Tony Harrison, or even Joey Spencer? If he brings that real dominant pressure I do think he gets it done in the later rounds.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elsewhere, Zerafa stressed Hearn has already drawn up a pathway to winning gold.<\/p>\n
Currently, Zerafa is ranked at No.4 in the WBO middleweight division, and No.6 with the WBA, although was finished quickly by champ Erislandy Lara back in 2024.<\/p>\n
Tszyu v Spence Jr. | Sunday July 26 from 11am AEST | Tim Tszyu takes on the biggest name in his career so far – future hall-of-famer Errol Spence Jr, in a can\u2019t miss event for boxing fans around the world. | Order Now with Main Event on Kayo Sports.<\/a><\/p>\nErrol Spence Jr. introduced to vegemite! | 00:46<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t say too much about what is coming,\u201d the fighter said. \u201cBut there have been some massive opportunities promised \u2013 including a world title shot \u2013 so it is definitely exciting times.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we were talking they asked \u2018are you ready to go?\u2019. I said \u2018mate, I could fight tonight\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo they\u2019ve put me straight onto a card in August.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey want to get me moving.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd my dream remains the same, to become a world champion.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know I\u2019ve fallen short previously and I blame myself for that, just at time was my preparation I\u2019ve stayed in camp too long and been overdone.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut now, with a proper structure in place, a proper team around me now \u2013 which Matchroom have sorted \u2013 it puts me back in line for that world title dream. I want the big fights.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Australian boxing bad boy Michael Zerafa has declared a Nikita Tszyu rematch could absolutely be part of the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":781888,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[571],"tags":[64,63,802,85],"class_list":["post-781887","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\/781887","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=781887"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/781887\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/781888"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=781887"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=781887"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=781887"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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