LAS VEGAS – The next 48 hours might be the biggest in the history of boxing in Australia.

On Friday night, in Glendale, Liam Wilson takes on Oscar Valdez for the WBO interim super featherweight crown and on Saturday, Michael Zerafa challenges Cuban Erislandy Lara for the WBA middleweight strap and Tim Tszyu faces Californian Sebastian Fundora with the WBC and WBO light middleweight titles at stake.

Many are referring to this as a “golden era” for Australia, with Tszyu leading the way but big fights in the offing for George Kambosos, Jai Opetaia, Jason and Andrew Moloney and Skye Nicholson.

“I would say so,” Tszyu agreed. “I think we’re all on the rise, small little country, small little island and we’re producing talent that’s taking over the world.” 

It starts with Wilson on Friday, and Zerafa will take the baton on Saturday before Tszyu faces the anchor leg.

“It would be huge for Australian boxing,” Zerafa said, discussing the long odds of a triple title success. “You’ve got Liam Wilson fighting the night before us, three Aussies trying to bring home belts. Usually me and Tim Tszyu are against each other, but come Saturday night I’m in his corner, I hope he wins and hopefully he’s in my corner the same night, but it’s going to be huge for Australian boxing.”

George Rose, of No Limits, the promotional company that has Wilson and Tszyu, will be at both fight cards, on the Friday and Saturday 

“It’s great for Liam,” he said of Wilson-Valdez. “I think that’s a tremendous fight, a very hard fight, a very very hard fight, but Liam’s someone who wants to challenge himself as well. 

“This is what I love about our fighters – they’re guys that really want to challenge themselves and take the opportunities.

“Look, for us it’s the biggest weekend in Australian boxing history with three world titles on the line and I’m really confident we can get a few of them, too.” 

That is the same line used by Fox Sport Australia’s Ben Damon, who is here in Las Vegas – although also attending the Wilson fight on Friday – and who has been with the network for some 15 years and been around boxing far longer.

“It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that this is the biggest weekend in Australian boxing history because three fighters are fighting for versions of the world title,” Damon said. 

“Liam Wilson is trying to right the incredible wrong [talking about the controversy over the count against Emanuel Navarrete] in the same venue almost exactly a year ago, fighting for an interim world title now. The winner will be upgraded to full and legitimate full-title status. 

“We have Michael Zerafa fighting Erislandy Lara on the undercard on Sunday Australian time; Saturday night here [Las Vegas]. It is an enormous opportunity for him because he has been around for so long and has danced around the opportunities. He could have gone the IBF route and probably should have done so because he might have been a world champion. 

“Instead, he finds himself on this big stage with all of the Australian media here, including his nemesis, Tim Tszyu, who is fighting in the main fight. 

“That brings us to Tim. He is now fighting for two world titles. Tim has his own WBO belt, and now the WBC world title is on the line against the 12-day notice, six foot-six genetic freak in Sebastian Fundora. 

“It has all the ingredients, and if all three were to win, it would be the best weekend in the history of Australian sport, not just boxing.”

While it would make for a terrific storyline, the odds do not favor all of the Australians going home with an extra carry-on case.

“Liam Wilson and Michael Zerafa are big outsiders,” Damon recognised. “Tim Tszyu is a very heavy favourite, but I don’t think he should be the heavy favourite going up against a six-foot-six southpaw who has been preparing to face someone a little bit like himself [reference in comparison to Fundora previously scheduled to fight Serhii Bohachuk].

“It would be wild if all three were to win, but it would be something special.”

In the lead-up to the newly-changed main event, in which Sebastian Fundora steps in for the injured Keith Thurman, it is Tszyu who has the major adjustments to make – against an opponent who is almost a foot taller than him and boxes in the opposite stance to Thurman. 

That has set alarm bells off for Damon.

“I always thought Sebastian Fundora was the guy we thought Tim Tszyu should avoid in the division,” Damon explained. 

“I didn’t mind the [Jermell] Charlo fight, and I haven’t minded the other fights we have taken with Tony Harrison and Brian Mendoza, who at the time was considered a pound-for-pound [big] puncher in boxing. 

“This guy is different. He is someone you can’t prepare for, particularly on late notice – especially when he has been preparing for someone like you potentially, so it makes it difficult. 

“The only thing that knocks him down a peg is that Fundora has not fought since Mendoza brutally knocked him out. We don’t know how he has recovered from that. He would have been a big worry if he had an in-between fight and looked good like he always has. 

“Tim should be okay, but it is a big call to enter this fight with 12 days’ notice.”

While Australia has a proud fighting tradition, with their fair share of hall-of-fame talent, it has never experienced a boom like that happening now. Damon is one of a media pack of around 20 who have travelled from Australia to cover Tszyu.

“This is THE golden era – it has never been better,” said Damon. 

“We have had some great runs with Jeff Fenech, Kostya Tszyu and Jeff Harding, but right now, we are at the peak of Australian boxing. 

“We have some committed networks behind it [boxing]. We have promoters who are doing the right things and are really invested in the sport, along with so many talented fighters. 

“I really don’t think it has ever been better, and it has been an incredible ride with those guys you mentioned. We have these three this weekend, as well as Jai Opetaia, the best cruiserweight in the world. 

“Vasiliy Lomachenko is coming to Australia and is in a big fight against George Kambosos [in May]. The Maloneys have Jason as a defending world champion who will feature on the [Naoya] Inoue card in Tokyo in May. 

“Female boxing is also thriving; it is an incredible space we are in right now.” 

And while it is an incredibly strong supporting cast, one fighter often has to lead the charge and there is no question that man is Tszyu. The likes of Terence Crawford and Errol Spence are in his sights. An impressive win over Fundora and he might find himself in the pound-for-pound conversation.

“Yeah, he is the main guy,” Damon continued. “His surname helped him get started, but he has become a mainstream star in Australia. He is the guy everyone is interested in and wants to see. 

“His fights sell incredible numbers back home, and they are big events. Now, he is over here as the A-side, headlining in Vegas. 

“This fight will raise his profile and truly elevate him to a global level, but he is already a star in Australia, as much as a star can be. 

“He really doesn’t need his father anymore, which is remarkable because his father is a true legend. Tim is now out of that shadow.”

While Kostya might have helped with the launch, Tim has become his own man and his own fighter, and that has allowed him to stand alone in the spotlight. 

“It helps Tim that Kostya is not around and lives in Russia now,” Damon believes. “There was talk of him actually coming to this fight, but that has now fallen over again. 

“He has only attended one of his fights, which was his first professional fight. He has been absent for the rest of them. 

“We brought him over to Australia for a press conference to use his name in the build-up to another one of Tim’s fights when he fought Jack Brubaker, which was headlining on pay-per-view. 

“Outside of that, Tim has not seen him for about four years, and Nikita, the other son, has not seen him for about eight years. 

“He is a presence and they do talk, but he is in Russia, has his own life. 

“I think his dad’s absence has really helped him, and it is weird to say that because jeez, we could have used him in promotion. I have known Kostya for many years, and he is a lovely guy.”

Not all of the popular Australian fighters have united the nation in the past. Jeff Fenech is now adored by most, but there was a time when he was loved and not-so loved, and Anthony Mundine irritated a lot of people and seemed happy being a villain.

“Jeff [Fenech] is an interesting one,” he continued. “I think he did bring the whole country together during his height but fell out of favor because of ‘tall poppy syndrome’, as we call it in Australia. 

“However, he has come back and is now back to being referred to as a legend because of his recent health struggles. You can tell how much he is loved when the news about his health became public knowledge; everyone united around him. He truly is loved. 

“Anthony Mundine doesn’t want to be loved and doesn’t care if people love him. He played that role so brilliantly throughout his career, much like Floyd Mayweather in America. People bought his fights and went to his fights to hopefully see him get beat. Rarely was he beat, though. 

“Tim Tszyu, on the other hand, is loved. I do not know if that will shift or if there will be any movement on who he is or wants to be seen as, but he is a unifying force in Australia.” 

And more than any personality trait, more than any sound bites, it is because he is a fighting man, who keeps things simple. He fights often, he fights hard. At Thursday’s press conference, he did not leave until he had spoken to everybody. 

“It is down to his fighting style and his attitude,” Damon added. “His willingness to go up against a six-foot-six genetic freak on 12 days’ notice is an excellent example of his attitude. 

“He was waiting on Jermell Charlo to give him his title shot, but instead of waiting, he took the fights in between, which were tough fights. Australians love that, and they can be very fickle, but when they see someone who is doing what they think he should do, they love it. 

“Tim has done that all the way through.”

Now Tszyu is leading the charge. He might see his future in the U.S. but he is making waves back home and at the tip of a tidal wave of boxing that is washing over his country. 

And on Saturday, he and Zerafa, former foes, will be willing one another on in Las Vegas to make thousands back home proud.

“I think it’s great, both of us coming in and we’re both going for world title,” said Tszyu. “And it’s a good time for boxing, right now it’s hot; red hot.”