Nyika v Masson | Saturday August 8 from 5pm AEST | One of the biggest nights in New Zealand boxing in recent years is coming to Auckland. Headlined by an official IBF Cruiserweight World Title Eliminator at Auckland\u2019s Eventfinda Stadium on Saturday 8 August 2026. | Order Now with Main Event on Kayo Sports.<\/a><\/p>\n The fight is the co-main event to Australian heavyweight Teremoana Teremoana\u2019s showdown with American DeAndre Savage, with Matchroom viewing it as a big step in getting Zerafa back into world title contention.<\/p>\n Currently ranked No.4 with the WBO and No.6 by the WBA, Zerafa knows victory would keep him right in the mix for another crack at a middleweight world championship.<\/p>\n Speaking with Fox Sports Australia, Zerafa made it clear his focus is firmly on what\u2019s ahead. <\/p>\n \u201cRespectfully, I don\u2019t know too much about him, but obviously I respect his power and where he\u2019s been,\u201d Zerafa said.<\/p>\n \u201cBut you know, if I can\u2019t beat these guys, then you know world title fights are out of the question.\u201d<\/p>\n Ortiz (26-1, 25 KOs) comes into the fight with one of the most intimidating knockout records in the division, having stopped 25 of his 26 victories. <\/p>\n And the Venezuelan has already fired the opening shot. <\/p>\n \u201cMichael Zerafa. I\u2019m coming for you.\u201d <\/p>\n Asked if the \u201cBad Boy\u201d of Australian boxing might make a return if Ortiz wants to start the mind games, Zerafa was all in. <\/p>\n \u201c100 percent,\u201d Zerafa said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Bad Boy is never buried, he\u2019s just tucked away.<\/p>\n \u201cIf this guy wants to play mind games and the back and forth, I think he\u2019ll lose that battle going into the fight.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think many can match me with the comebacks and the bad boy image, but look at the moment I\u2019m just playing it cool, calm and collected. And we\u2019ll see what comes.\u201d<\/p>\n While Zerafa has never considered himself a one-punch knockout artist, he says Ortiz should be careful.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not much of a puncher, but I\u2019ve knocked out 23 of my opponents,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cSo if I get my distance right\u2026 he\u2019s in trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n Aussie boxing star Michael ZerafaSource: FOX SPORTS<\/p>\n While Ortiz comes first, Zerafa is already eyeing some big opportunities if he gets the job done.<\/p>\n Earlier this year, \u2018Pretty Boy\u2019 was heavily linked to a blockbuster showdown with British superstar Chris Eubank Jr.<\/p>\n But Zerafa insisted the fight remains very much on his radar, and could still happen.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, we\u2019re still definitely going back and forth,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s definitely still a green light. <\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re still super keen. We\u2019re still super keen. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s still a live fight. <\/p>\n \u201cNow it\u2019s just about getting the backing.\u201d<\/p>\n While Zerafa has one eye on a potential showdown with Chris Eubank Jr, there remains another blockbuster much closer to home.<\/p>\n Matchroom boss Eddie Hearn recently declared a rematch with Nikita Tszyu \u201cthe biggest fight in Australian boxing\u201d, with the pair\u2019s controversial no contest leaving plenty of unfinished business.<\/p>\n Zerafa isn\u2019t about to call the shots, though, insisting he\u2019ll leave those decisions to his promoters.<\/p>\n \u201cLook, I do whatever my promoters and management tell me to do,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s my dream to be a world champion. I will never shy away from a fight, and if it\u2019s going to elevate me or give me a world title, yeah, sure, 100%.\u201d<\/p>\n MORE BOXING:<\/p>\n \u2018Expect brutality\u2019: Big reveal over Nikita title eliminator.. and likely answer to glaring Tim question<\/a><\/p>\n The Magnificent 7: Contenders for Tszyu\u2019s next fight, including world title Ashes battle and NYC epic<\/a><\/p>\n Tszyu v Spence Jr: Full Fight Highlights | 12:38<\/p>\n The Victorian also returns to Queensland, where he\u2019s suffered some of the toughest nights of his career, including the Tszyu no contest and his narrow loss to Jeff Horn in 2019. <\/p>\n Zerafa says the location doesn\u2019t bother him at all.<\/p>\n \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t change what people think of me. <\/p>\n \u201cAll that matters and I care about are the ones that show their love and support. <\/p>\n \u201cI do get a lot of hate, but amongst that hate, there\u2019s a lot of great people out there. I get a lot of support as well, especially down in Melbourne.<\/p>\n \u201cJust today on the way to the hotel room (on the Gold Coast), there\u2019s a lot of love and support, which is good.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we can turn a few haters around, that\u2019s great.<\/p>\n \u201cBut if not, I\u2019ve still got a job to do.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Michael Zerafa is ready to put the past behind him and kick-start another world title charge against dangerous…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":830299,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[571],"tags":[64,63,802,85],"class_list":["post-830298","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\/830298","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=830298"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/830298\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/830299"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=830298"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=830298"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=830298"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/poster-fallback.png\"\/)
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