Australian boxing star Michael Zerafa has revealed that he’s set to face Ukrainian boxing legend Gennady Golovkin in a mammoth bout next year.
Fox Sports reports that the 30-year-old has ‘verbally agreed’ to fight for Triple G’s middleweight title in Australia next March.
It would signal a huge turnaround for a man who was labelled ‘Australia’s most hated man’ by Tim Tszyu last year.
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Zerafa was heavily criticised for pulling out of his main event headliner against Tszyu in June 2021.
It’s a choice he says was influenced by having the ‘wrong team’ in his corner, claiming he was ‘lied’ to.
It’s a decision he says he wouldn’t have made if he had been given ‘the right information’.
However, he says that he’ll now demand a shot at his rival once he’s through with Golovkin - despite walking out on the fight last year.
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He believes that fight ‘will be bigger than even Anthony Mundine versus Danny Green’, according to Fox Sports.
However, before then, and even before the Golovkin fight, he’s set to be announced as part of the co-main event of Paul Gallen’s retirement card on November 23.
Zerafa will face undefeated Italian Danelo ‘Dash’ Creati, who was won eight straight fights.
As for why he’s taking the fight despite having a mammoth bout with Golovkin scheduled in, he says he wants to ‘stay active’.
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He told Fox Sports: “While Triple G and his team have verbally agreed to fight me, and to fight me in Australia, it’s now been seven months since I dismantled Issac Hardman.
“And since 2020, I’ve only fought seven rounds. I’ve knocked out everyone I fought.
“So this is about getting myself back in the ring, and back on the big stage”.
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Zerafa has previously slammed the attention Gallen has received over ‘real’ boxers, however, says he doesn't mind being on the NRL legend’s farewell undercard, and that he was ‘never against Gal’.
He continued: “I was just disappointed he was taking some of the attention away from the professional boxers, guys who had been all over the world fighting.
“But credit to him.
“He’s a gentleman, a family man, great athlete and has brought a lot of eyes to the sport. So hopefully he goes out with a bang, goes out healthy and gets the win.”
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With fights against Golovkin and Tszyu potentially in the works, it’s certainly going to be a huge 12 months for Zerafa.
Topics: Australia, Boxing, Gennady Golovkin, Tim Tszyu
Jayden Collins