Michael Zerafa fight embroiled in 'disgraceful' scenes amid Nikita Tszyu's frightening act
The Aussie boxing community has been left in shock after the ugly fallout to Michael Zerafa's bout.
American boxing great Shawn Porter has labelled the scenes unfolding after Michael Zerafa's TKO win as 'unacceptable' after his brother jumped into the ring and punched the rival trainer to start a brawl. Zerafa was quick to call out Nikita Tszyu after his unusual victory over opponent Tommy Browne after the veteran retired after the first round due to a bicep injury.
Zerafa wasn't impressed with his rival retiring from the stool and had some choice words for the veteran and Browne's trainer Tommy Mercuri. Zerafa appeared to yell 'You quit' to his opponent Browne who appeared unable to continue.
And the scenes turned very ugly when Zerafa's brother got into the ring and threw a punch at Browne's trainer. Browne's trainer was trying to separate Zerafa from his fighter who was injured. A melee exploded for a few moments as the event descended into chaos at the ICC Sydney.
After the fracas, American boxing great Porter labelled the scenes unfolding in Australia's premier event a low point. “That’s unacceptable. If Michael knows his brother has the ability to do that... he shouldn’t be in his corner,” Porter said.
Drama at the end of #ZerafaBrowne
Order PPV via 👉 https://t.co/aq9YRZmKpi#nolimitboxing #nolimitppv #tszyumazoudier pic.twitter.com/MU9PcrFSKy— No Limit Boxing (@NoLimit_Boxing) August 28, 2024
Main Event commentator and analyst Peter Badel claimed Zerafa's brother shouldn't be able to attend future events. “I don’t think his brother should be involved in boxing again. That was disgraceful,” Badel said. Zerafa's brother was escorted from the arena after the brawl.
The scenes were a new low point for Australian boxing that has copped plenty of criticism in recent years as it tries to restore its reputation after years of fans being left disenchanted. Expensive prices for main events, underwhelming cards and a lack of star power have all contributed to a decline in interest around Aussie boxing. Fans could not believe the drama and slammed Zerafa for taunting his rival after the fight. But most of the criticism fell on Zerafa's brother for his actions.
I'm all for the word games in boxing but to not check on the welfare of your opponent, nor begrudgingly shake his hand is just utter dog sh*t behaviour.#TszyuMazoudier
— Matt Back (@MattNotFront) August 28, 2024
Zerafa's brother just legit threw down with Browne's corner after Browne looks to have torn his bicep..
Scenes...— Matt Back (@MattNotFront) August 28, 2024
That’s one of the craziest things I’ve seen in boxing from the Zerafa camp.
— Tom Hagan (@tomhagan88) August 28, 2024
Zerafa is a controversial figure in Australian boxing and was booed on his way to the ring for his bout. Afterwards Zerafa got into it with the crowd as he copped backlash for the drama. "I love all the haters, keep on hating, Zerafa ain't going f***ing nowhere," Zerafa said.
Zerafa's win comes after he was knocked out in a second-round loss to WBA middleweight world champion ErIslandy Lara in March. Zerafa may have not given fans what they wanted, but it didn't stop him calling out the victorious Tszyu.
Nikita Tszyu wins brutal bout with TKO finish
Tszyu looked to be tiring in his bout against Koen Mazoudier after an all-in slugfest but the exciting youngster managed to emerge victorious with a ninth-round stoppage. Tszyu's victory means he is the new WBO intercontinental and IBF Australasian super welterweight champ and moved into the top 15 rankings for both organisations.
Tim Tszyu's younger brother looked very good early on using his head movement and agile feet to outbox Mazoudier across the first five rounds. But Tszyu started to tire and the two got into a brutal slugest that had the crowd on their feet.
Mazoudier appeared to be building into the clash with many fans having the bout locked at 4-4 heading into the ninth. Although a straight left from Tszyu appeared to rock Mazoudier and he never looked back having piled it on his opponent until he was out on his feet and the referee stepped in.
Tszyu admitted Mazoudier was much tougher than he predicted having been rocked a number of times throughout the fight. "I had to work for that, it was not easy," Tszyu said. "I have to take my hat off to Koen, he's one tough, tough guy. "There was a point in the middle where I was kind of out of my feet, I had to kind of push through and dig deep."
My little bro got some heavy hands
— Tim Tszyu (@Tim_Tszyu) August 28, 2024
Older brother, Tim, was watching the bout from overseas and claimed his brother was using his power punches well throughout the contest. "My little bro got some heavy hands," Tszyu wrote on social media.
No Limit promoter chief executive George Rose was keen to make the Tszyu and Zerafa bout happen next. "Let's do it," Rose said after Tszyu's victory.