{"id":902173,"date":"2026-09-23T06:02:14","date_gmt":"2026-09-23T06:02:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/902173\/"},"modified":"2026-09-23T06:02:14","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T06:02:14","slug":"boxing-news-2026-michael-zerafa-eyeing-fight-vs-chris-eubank-jr-eddie-hearn-meeting-exclusive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/902173\/","title":{"rendered":"Boxing news 2026: Michael Zerafa eyeing fight vs Chris Eubank Jr, Eddie Hearn meeting, exclusive"},"content":{"rendered":"

Michael Zerafa<\/a> is pushing forward with plans to headline a major boxing<\/a> card in Melbourne next year against second-generation British star Chris Eubank Jr.<\/a><\/p>\n

After a controversial no contest against Nikita Tszyu<\/a>, the 34-year-old has parted ways with promoters No Limit and linked up with Eddie Hearn<\/a>\u2019s Matchroom.<\/p>\n

\"Michael<\/p>\n

Michael Zerafa during his win over Alejandro Ortiz.\u00a0Getty Images.<\/p>\n

Zerafa made the jump to join the British-based promotion in July and made his debut with a stoppage victory over Alejandro Ortiz last month<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Now, the polarising Australian middleweight is eyeing off a huge challenge. <\/p>\n

Speaking to nine.com.au this week, Zerafa said the Eubank showdown is firmly on the table, with Hearn in Australia to meet with Victorian government officials.<\/p>\n

\u201cMe and Eubank\u2019s team have been going back and forth for a while now, but the only downfall was that I didn\u2019t have a promoter at the time and he\u2019s a free agent, so it was hard to get it over the line,\u201d Zerafa (35-5, 1 NC) said.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously now, signing with Eddie Hearn, he\u2019s shown huge interest and wants to push the matter. We\u2019re gonna have that meeting and hopefully get it over the line.<\/p>\n

\u201cEubank wants big money. He\u2019s made (it) difficult, he wanted $10 million. <\/p>\n

\u201cObviously everyone told him he\u2019s not getting that. He got $10 million to fight Conor Benn<\/a>, so trying to get $10 million to fight me, he\u2019s a bit out of his depth.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re saying early next year, around February or March \u2013 that would be ideal, that\u2019s what we want and that\u2019s what they\u2019re pushing for.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eubank (39-4) is one of the biggest names in British boxing and his two fights with Benn last year drew global attention and countless headlines.<\/p>\n

Since losing the second bout between the pair<\/a>, Eubank has been linked with a trilogy fight against Benn \u2013 something that Hearn has already hinted at since the latter\u2019s devastating second-round knockout loss to Ryan Garcia<\/a>.<\/p>\n

However, a clash with Zerafa in early-2027 appears a logical next landing spot.<\/p>\n

Eubank\u2019s father, Chris Sr, was one of boxing\u2019s most recognisable stars in the 1990s and has had an off-again, on-again relationship with his 37-year-old son.<\/p>\n

Before that potential fight, Zerafa said he would fulfil his contractual obligations with Matchroom in December, potentially taking on American star Tony Harrison \u2013 the former world champion who was knocked out by Tim Tszyu in 2023<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Michael Zerafa poses as Eddie Hearn looks on.\u00a0Getty<\/p>\n

Zerafa is ranked as the world\u2019s fourth-best middleweight title contender with the WBO and sixth with the WBA. <\/p>\n

The deal with Matchroom is expected to help land major fights for Zerafa at home and abroad, with Hearn one of the sport\u2019s biggest international promoters.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Michael Zerafa is pushing forward with plans to headline a major boxing card in Melbourne next year against…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":902174,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[571],"tags":[64,63,802,85],"class_list":["post-902173","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\/902173","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=902173"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/902173\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/902174"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=902173"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=902173"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=902173"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}