Michael Zerafa will face Tommy Browne next, drawing the line for a fight with the Tszyu brothers
Australia's Michael Zerafa is taking a step up in class as he looks to rebuild his career following his second round loss to WBA middleweight title holder Erislandy Lara in Las Vegas in March.
A big step down in class.
The 32-year-old Melburnian will face Tommy Browne in August, venue and date yet to be finalised.
The name may sound unfamiliar to those who have been in the game for a long time. Sydney's Browne, 41, challenged Jin Chi unsuccessfully for the WBC title and Chris John for the WBA belt in the same calendar year. That was in 2005 and both of those fights were at featherweight.
Since then, Browne has had an up-and-coming career. After his sixth-round loss to Leonardo Zappavigna at junior welterweight in 2008, he took a five-year hiatus from the sport before returning as a 154-pounder. The past ten years have seen the 22-year-old overcome a string of impressive victories over Anthony Mundine by knockout and Dennis Hogan by points in six heats as he takes his record to 45-8-2 with 19 wins. by a short route.
Browne has been a brave hero flying his country's flag proudly on the international stage, but there appears to be little desire for this matchup at home or abroad.
This news comes as Zerafa has signed an agreement with No Limit Boxing, which is a Sydney outfit that promotes boxing brothers Tim and Nikita Tszyu. Browne will be Zerafa's first under their banner, his main goal is to fight at least one of the Tszyus.
“I signed a contract with No Limit and I hope that after I beat Tommy, I can fight Nikita next and finally fight Tim,” Zerafa (31-5, 19 KOs) explained to CODE Sports.
“Nikita is very strong. You have a name. He's exciting, but there are a lot of flaws in his game and a world-class fighter like me will expose them.”
Zerafa was due to face Tim Tszyu three years ago but pulled out of the one-week trial amid concerns over COVID-19 travel restrictions. Four months ago, his last fight against Lara was on the undercard of Tyszu defending his WBO junior middleweight title against Sebastian Fundora.
“Tim and I have unfinished business,” said Zerafa. “Being on the same card in Vegas, it softened the bad blood we had as two Aussies in the world together, but this is business and there's a fight to be made.
“No Limit put a shield in front of Tim and Nikita, but I'm going to break that family shield and finally get the big fight Australian boxing fans deserve.
“The truth is that Tim and I have nothing now. None of us have a belt. We're back on the same field now, so when Tim's ready, I'm ready to do it.”
Surprisingly, Zerafa reunited with trainer Glenn Rushton, who famously trained Jeff Horn in his victory over Manny Pacquaio in Brisbane seven years ago.
“Glenn has a brilliant mind,” said Zerafa, who lost 1-1 to Horn and Rushton in another corner. “He is not officially my coach. He will just be advising me and helping me in the corner.
“I will be choosing his mind. He has extensive experience in boxing and mixed martial arts. I feel like a little extra gun in my corner. “
He added: “Horn fought Tim Tszyu and I think Rushton can give a good insight and break Tim.”
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