Wednesday, January 14
BRISBANE, Australia – If Monday’s grand arrivals were threatened by rainfall, Wednesday’s public press conference, at Brisbane’s grand King George Square, were equally threatened by intense sunshine and heat. Nikita Tszyu, apparently permanently indifferent to perceptions of him, sat with a pair of dark sunglasses and a white towel over his head in a way that essentially made him unrecognisable. The considerably more image conscious Michael Zerafa sat wearing a hat.
A small crowd had gathered to watch the afternoon’s live press conference – admirably and professionally steered by Main Event’s Ben Damon like there was no such heat – but in all likelihood, particularly given the Australian culture is particularly aware of the need to be safe in the sun, that crowd would have been bigger if it hadn’t been so hot. It was perhaps partly for that reason that a representative of No Limit asked BoxingScene and other members of the media to ask questions before its conclusion. Despite the name suggesting otherwise, boxing press conferences in other territories are so controlled that doing so often isn’t an option – and, also unlike in other territories, doing so didn’t prevent those present later conducting interviews, one-on-one.
The retired Jeff Horn, a veteran of two high-profile all-Australian contests with Zerafa and another with Tim Tszyu, was present in his capacity for broadcasters Main Event. So, too, was the Irish light heavyweight Conor Wallace. But, in many respects unpredictably, the Australia-based junior welterweight Billy Polkinghorn – born in Essex, England – demanded greater attention when, while wearing a 90s era shirt of English Premier League team West Ham United, he left the press conference platform to join the queue of media members asking questions to engage with Zerafa in a tongue-in-cheek exchange. Polkinghorn had previously been described as a “character” by the same representative of No Limit, having also posed on the red carpet at Monday’s grand arrivals for a photo in which he was held up by those around him like a bride often is by the groomsmen and groom when they are newly wed. More relevantly, he consistently presents like a natural showman not only relaxed in but relishing the spotlight on the eve of a fight, suggesting that composure will long be one of his strengths.
Before the press conference’s conclusion Zerafa was asked whether he believed No Limit’s George Rose when the promoter insisted he wasn’t favouring either one of his fighters – the question was asked partly because of No Limit’s long-term investment in both Tszyus. “Erm…,” Zerafa said before pausing, smiling and laughing. Rose, to his credit, also smiled and laughed.
“I’ve got to read over my contract,” the fighter continued. “I’ve got to see if I can say certain things.
“No, credit to the Rose boys. We have had our ups and downs, but credit to them for believing in me and sticking by me and obviously giving the biggest platform, not only for this fight for Australian boxing, but the undercard. It’s amazing, and they’re the best to do it in Australia, so, despite everything that we’ve had in the past, I do believe that they are invested in me as well as Nikita.”
Polkinghorn later explained to BoxingScene that he was considering using the platform presented by his position on Friday’s undercard to attempt to find a new home for the stray dog he had taken in three weeks earlier. Regrettably the dog appears to have been deliberately abandoned – after Polkinghorn phoned the contact number revealed by the dog’s chip and explained why he had called, whoever answered immediately hung up. He also confirmed that if he doesn’t find a new home soon he will instead commit to keeping the dog.
