SYDNEY, Australia – Nikita Tszyu hopes to fight again in May, having chosen against considering a future date with his long-term rival Michael Zerafa.
Their fight on January 16 was declared a no contest two seconds into the third round, when what appeared an innocuous cut over Zerafa’s left eye led to him insisting that he couldn’t see.
Zerafa immediately insisted that he hoped that they could fit again, but his reputation is perhaps beyond repair and Tszyu has since joined their promoters No Limit and broadcaster Main Event in concluding that another date between them has lost its appeal.
Aged 28 and after only 11 fights he regardless recognised that there exists a potential positive in that outcome for his career. Winning a high-profile pay-per-view fight against a former world-title challenger would have left him under pressure to move into title contention at junior middleweight, the most competitive weight division in the world.
He can instead focus on building his record and gaining the experience he deprived himself as an amateur when for six years he abandoned boxing to prioritise studying architecture. He also believes that the nature of the occasion he was preparing for against Zerafa means that even without fighting beyond two full rounds he has continued to evolve.
“We’re planning for May or something – a couple of months away,” he told BoxingScene. “I’m still very fit. Not doing boxing – I’ve got two weeks off – but I’m still running. Once I get stuck into the groove of training it’s not like I’m going to be restarting – just picking up.
“I have no idea what my team want [in my next opponent]. If I was to assume I’d say a little bit less of a step up from Michael. More, building. ‘Cause, yes, I am ranked sixth with the IBF. But I don’t have the experience to be ranked there, and gotta build up the rounds.
“There’s good in everything. I believe that what happened was meant to happen that way. I learned a lot from this camp. I developed extremely well. I didn’t get a chance to show the improvement, but you got a slight glimpse of them.
“Even just the two rounds – I got to feel what it was like to fight in front of 11,000 people. That, in itself, is a daunting task to most people – to be headlining such a huge event, I got to experience it. I got to experience looking out into the crowd and seeing everyone screaming; booing, as well. Maybe not at me, but still feeling the energy of the crowd. I still got to experience being in the ring with someone smarter than me, and knowing that I’ve got to be able to make decisions on the fly, so there’s positives in all.
“I guess everything happens for a reason. Maybe that’s what the whole plan was.”
Post-fight at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre after the controversy sparked by Zerafa, Tszyu had described himself as “numb”. While his promoters and his manager Glenn Jennings questioned the wisdom of a future fight with Tszyu, the fighter himself that night refused to rule one out.
The change in his attitude since then is perhaps a reflection of his discipline. Tszyu – and it may even be why he has said that Zerafa ought to retire – has chosen to “move on” from his rival despite knowing that he will never secure the closure and the catharsis that he ultimately craves.
“I’ve just got to move on from it, really,” he explained. “I don’t want to think too much about Michael anymore. Whatever’s happened with him is now in the past. It’s time to just move on. Gotta get back to the super-welterweight division – I went up to middleweight [to fight at a catchweight of 157lbs] – and focusing back on the main plan.
“No interest – there’s no need for it. I’m not a fan of rematches in general, unless it’s very necessary, but this one – it’s not necessary. He’s had his opportunity twice now, and he messed this one up. I just don’t want to deal with him. I didn’t really have to deal with him that much during the preparation or the signing of contracts. But I heard from my management and the No Limit promoters that he’s just a pain in the arse to deal with. I saw some interviews – his previous teams saying how difficult he is. He’s just a bad apple.
“It’s just shameful that it had to end that way. All the work that I’ve put in was kind of taken away. I got over it very quickly. I’ve already checked out. I’m just thinking about the future really. I can’t change it – it happened.
“[Older brother] Tim was angry. He vocalised it. But I haven’t really spoken that much to them. We’re all just fine with it.
“He’s a liar. He keeps just making stuff up. I’m glad that he did do that post apologising – admitting that he was wrong. He wants to be loved. That’s why he’s being the nice guy – he’s trying to win over people. He’s sick of being hated by everybody, and he really messed up – he really fucked up.
“I got to really know him. I did feel bad for him, in the lead up, because he’s genuinely a nice guy. But he makes mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes. But he just makes mistakes at the wrong times, with the wrong people watching, and doesn’t know how to own up to them. That’s his biggest wrongdoing.
“If anything I dislike him even more now because of that. It’s going to be a question mark in my career – my life – forever, that will never get answered.
“I don’t know if people would really want to see him anymore. Maybe to see him lose. But he’s too much of a liability at this point. I don’t know if any promoters really want to deal with him. I think he should just retire and live the rest of his life. He’s got his businesses; he’s talked about how he’s gonna be fine after this fight if he loses. Forget about the world; delete your Instagram; delete social media. You don’t have to listen to people. Just, do your own thing.”
