BRISBANE, Australia – The cut man in Michael Zerafa’s corner for the contest with Nikita Tszyu didn’t believe his cut so severe that it was about to stop the fight.
Zerafa has been widely criticised for appearing to tell the ringside doctor on Friday evening that he couldn’t see, despite the cut around his left eye appearing insignificant following an accidental clash of heads.
That the 157lbs catchweight contest at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre ended three seconds into the third round means it was ruled a no contest. Zerafa, 33, was accused of “quitting” by ringside commentators and retired world champions Paulie Malignaggi and Shawn Porter, as well as Tszyu, and he regardless insisted that he had wanted to fight on, and wanted a future date with Tszyu to be arranged.
Matt Clark, the director of boxing at Tasman Fighters, had been recruited to work as Zerafa’s cut man. He later posted on social media an image of the swab that showed minimal bleeding having believed Zerafa capable of continuing.
Adding to the sense of mystery surrounding Zerafa’s intentions, despite Clark recalling his cut as having been glued up, Zerafa posted an image of a left eye swollen closed and having received stitches. The same eye, having not swollen up before he left the arena, had by comparison previously appeared fine.
“I thought he was fine, pre-fight,” Clark told BoxingScene. “Everything was really relaxed; his trainer [Josh Arnold] and his team were very relaxed. I thought everything was where it should be, before a fight.
“When a southpaw’s fighting an orthodox, there’s always a good chance [of a head clash] – it seems to happen every time there’s a fight between a southpaw and an orthodox. But I noticed there was blood there. I didn’t think it was bleeding profusely though. I just got everything ready to treat it.
“Myself and the rest of the corner had a plan in place that, if he was cut, I would get between the ropes so I could address the cut as much as I could. I applied pressure with the towel and wiped what blood away there was. My first thought was ‘It’s not bad at all’. I told him it’s not bad, and I think he said ‘Sweet?’. I replied ‘It’s sweet – it’s absolutely nothing. Don’t worry about it. Tiny’. Something along those lines.
“I actually wasn’t too worried about it at all. I used to do Lucas Browne’s cuts and they were – Lucas Browne would get cut walking to the ring; he’d have half his face hanging off in some of those fights and I’d still tell him it was alright.
“I wasn’t concerned about it. It’s in a delicate area of the face – the top of his eyelid. But it wasn’t bleeding into the eye – it was bleeding around the eye. The blood was following the curvature of his eyelid, but not into the eye. Automatically, I think ‘That’s not too bad’. I reassured him that it was okay.
“During the course of the one-minute break I applied pressure, used the cotton swab with adrenaline, and with about the 10-second warning coming up, remember thinking ‘I’m done here’. It’d stopped bleeding. I applied the vaseline on top, and that was it. We were out of the ring well before the round started. It was manageable enough; I thought it was under control.
“My reaction was of surprise when the doctor had a look at it, ‘cause I remember thinking ‘It’s not bleeding’. I didn’t think there was a requirement for it. I get that they’ve got a duty of care, but I was surprised. I didn’t think it was affecting his performance during the second round and that there was a good chance it wouldn’t affect his performance in the third round, because it wasn’t bleeding.”
Asked if he remembers Zerafa saying in his corner that he couldn’t see, Clark then responded: “No, not to my recollection at all. It was very calm in the corner. Josh Arnold was giving him instructions.”
When he was then asked if he believed Zerafa would have been struggling with his vision Clark said: “I genuinely don’t know. You would have to ask Michael for clarification, ‘cause I can’t answer on his behalf. It’s caught the public’s attention, that’s for sure. I’d need to hear the full audio. It does sound like he’s said he can’t see. Whether that needed further clarifying questions, like ‘Are you able to continue?’, I don’t know. But that’s between Michael and the officials. Fighter’s safety’s always paramount. We’ve seen too many things – it’s better to be safe than sorry. I could understand everyone’s frustration though, because my opinion was it was fine to continue. But that’s not my job.”
Tszyu, 27, post-fight refused to rule out fighting Zerafa in future, but the damage to his fellow Australian’s reputation means that a future date is unlikely to appeal.
“It felt like everyone was just bitterly disappointed,” Clark continued. “I thought it was shaping up as a great fight. It was only two completed rounds but I felt like it was very evenly matched. I thought both guys had moments – I really thought [it was going to be good].
“I didn’t think the cut was bad enough to stop the fight. It looks like he’s got a cut that goes the length of his eye – it’s not. That’s the blood following his facial structure. The cut itself is not deep. It didn’t get stitched. It got glued. It’s what I would describe as the width of my small fingernail. I didn’t think it was particularly deep. It was very fine – like a paper cut-type cut. Very clean.
“I thought the fight could have continued. Whenever fights end inconclusively I think we all get annoyed and annoyed at the sport and sometimes look to appoint blame. If he’s saying he can’t see, he can’t see. That [whether he could have continued is] a question for him though.”
"What a night," read the social media post from Zerafa. "This is boxing and I'm gutted just as much as you all and I do apologise. We spent the night in hospital and besides the cut, I suffered a shattered eye socket and damage to the retina."
