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Tim Tszyu And Michael Zerafa Trade Barbs During Fiery Press Conference

Tim Tszyu And Michael Zerafa Trade Barbs During Fiery Press Conference

The two Aussie boxers certainly didn't hold back with Zerafa even claiming that Tszyu has been "fighting Venezuelan taxi drivers".

Max Sherry

Max Sherry

Like Tim Tszyu said himself, this fight between him and Michael Zerafa is "personal".

And that became abundantly clear during the pair's heated press conference.

No Limit Boxing

After months of back-and-forth, Australian boxing duo Tszyu and Zerafa are finally set to meet inside the ring on Wednesday July 7 at the Newcastle Entertainment Centre.

And to officially announce their highly-anticipated bout, a press conference was held at the Star Casino in Sydney.

But while the exchange between the two boxers remained somewhat calm and respectable at the start of the press conference, that soon changed when Zerafa called his undefeated opponent "soft".

What followed was a spicy four-minute argument where the fiery duo exchanged pleasantries with one another.

Here's how it all went down...

Zerafa: He's a bit soft.

Tszyu: Sure sure, I'm soft.

Zerafa: He's taking everything personal. If he'd have signed the fight years ago... we would have had this fight years ago but you rejected the fight. We got calls and videos that you lost a knuckle and you sent us a photo of your grandfather's hand. You said you can't fight because you needed surgery on your hand and you sent us a photo of Boris.

Tszyu: Where did you get that from? Facts, it was my hand actually.

Zerafa: I've wanted this fight. I was in a four-fight plan, that you made up. You fought three out of the four. Remember that.

Tszyu: And then you lost to Horn.

Zerafa: I lost against Horn? I got robbed against Horn. I got robbed.

Tszyu: So I fought the winner of the two of you. You can only fight whoever is in front of you. I'm not going to fight the loser.

Zerafa: You're fighting Venezuelan taxi drivers mate.

Tszyu: Who? Name one.

Zerafa: I don't even know their names mate. I can name a whole bunch of people I've fought, I bet you know who they are. You know who Kell Brook is. You know who Jeff Horn is.

Tszyu: I respect that you've fought them, but at the end of the day you lost.

Zerafa: Did you go 12 round with Kell Brook? I've proven I can do the things that you've done. I've beaten Jeff Horn too.

Tszyu: I would beat Kell Brook.

Zerafa: You think you can.

Tszyu: It's not an achievement by taking people distances.

Zerafa: You've never fought outside your backyard. You got beaten by Wade Ryan. You got dropped by Wade Ryan. I'm a different beast to Wade Ryan mate.

Tszyu: I don't lose to Wade Ryan. I fought him 10 months into my career, you fought Wade Ryan seven years into your career.

Zerafa: I fought him a year after you. I'd only had 15 fights, same as you. At 26 years old you're fighting a 37 year old in Dennis Hogan who is coming off two losses. At 26 I was fighting Kell Brook for a world title.

Tszyu: You're 29 and you're fighting 46-year-old Mundine.

Zerafa: Because you didn't pick up your phone. How many missed called did you have from us?

Tszyu: Missed calls? Not one.

Zerafa: We had to fight Mundine because you didn't want it.

Tszyu: I was fighting Dennis Hogan.

Zerafa: Tell the people the truth. You had that many missed calls from us, you didn't want the fight. We've got international opponents, this and that. You never had anything. You didn't have any fights. You were saying you had (Jermell) Charlo and (Brian) Castano but you had none of that. I respect him and I respect his team but tell the truth, don't lie.

Tszyu: He's got this whole circus of calling out different fighters. I saw him calling out some AFL fighter.

Zerafa: Again, doesn't know his facts! That was a charity bout. You want to bag a charity event live on Fox Sports?! I have to give back. I didn't have my dad to get me where I'm at. I built my name with my own bare hands.

Tszyu: I've beaten everyone in front of me. I've beaten former world champions.

Zerafa: You're TT2. You're still the second best even in your family name. If your name was Tim Smith, no one would care mate.

Tszyu: Well I'm Tim Tszyu. It's a second generation.

Featured Image Credit: No Limit Boxing / Main Event

Topics: Tim Tszyu, Boxing News, Boxing, Australia