BRISBANE, Australia – The all-Australian grudge match between Nikita Tszyu and Michael Zerafa ended in the disappointment of a controversial no contest that has jeopardised Zerafa’s reputation.
An accidental clash of heads towards the end of the competitive second round opened a small cut by Zerafa’s left eye. When the cut was then inspected by the ringside doctor he appeared to say that he couldn’t see.
The fight was therefore waved off and ruled a no contest, after which Zerafa unconvincingly started protesting, to a chorus of boos and jeers.
Zerafa regardless insisted that he wanted to arrange a future date with Tszyu, but the perception that he quit when he appeared in a position to continue will ensure that any of his future fights will struggle to appeal.
There had been little to separate them at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre until their clash of heads.
The 33-year-old Zerafa had succeeded during the first round with a combination before being caught off-balance when Tszyu cuffed him with a right hand. They traded in close in what amounted to an even exchange – one followed by Tszyu landing a straight left.
Zerafa’s edge in experience showed in the second when he countered with a right hand when Tszyu was on his way in. Zerafa swung and missed with a right hand after absorbing a left; Tszyu then edged another exchange with another right hand before Zerafa responded before the fateful clash of heads.
The cut had required only routine attention from Zerafa’s corner, and the ringside doctor’s inspection ought to have been similarly routine.
He regardless twice appeared to say that he was unable to see out of it, forcing the doctor’s intervention, and the deeply unsatisfying conclusion three seconds into the third round of what was on course to become an entertaining fight.
Zerafa had appeared untroubled by the fight’s conclusion, but after a period of reflection his protests grew. The fact that his eye had stopped bleeding and wasn’t swelling up contributed to suspicions that he was simply uninterested in fighting. When he then spoke in his post-fight interview he similarly again struggled to convince.
“I don’t know why everyone’s booing me – I didn’t stop it the doctor stopped it,” he said from the ring that he had already attempted to leave.
“It’s not my fault.
“I said ‘It’s blurry – it’s all good, let’s go’.”
“No,” he then responded when asked again if he had told the doctor he couldn’t see. “I’m ready to go. Let’s go again. Let’s run it back.
“[My eye’s] good. It was blurry through the rounds – I got the head clash at the end of round one, the start of round two. It is what it is. This is boxing, man. Let’s do it again. No disrespect to anybody. I don’t know why anyone’s booing.
“One hundred per cent [I still want to fight him]. I wanna apologise to everybody. I don’t know why you’re booing – I really don’t understand. You guys should be getting behind us athletes, whether you love or hate me. This is the sport, guys. I do apologise. I am sorry. We will do this again. I promise you.
“I said it was blurry. I said ‘The vision’s blurry’. But not enough to stop the fight.”
The contest had represented by some distance the biggest of Tszyu’s 12-fight career. Its conclusion had led to ringside commentators Paulie Malignaggi and Shawn Porter to insist that Zerafa had "quit".
“What I’m being told is that Michael said he couldn’t see, and he pulled the pin on the fight,” Tszyu said. “That’s what I’ve just been told. That’s what the doctor said. That’s what the referee said. What can we do? The fight was getting good. Sorry to everybody who came out and expected a 10-round war.
“There was six months of work in this. What an anti-climatic ending. Obviously it sucks, but what can you do?
“I don’t deal with the business side of stuff. It’s all up to promoters and my management. I don’t know [if we can fight again].”
“First and foremost I’d like to apologise to all the great fans who turned up here tonight to watch a fantastic night of fights,” said George Rose of promoters No Limit. “To everybody who tuned in at home and wanted to see this one settled tonight, I do apologise sincerely to you all.”
