Michael Zerafa strolled around an empty Newcastle Entertainment Centre on Tuesday in the build-up to his media day with Tim Tszyu, without a clue of what was to come.
The Rose brothers at No Limit Boxing had orchestrated the whole thing; a stitch-up in front of the press that was sure to stir up one of the fastest talkers in Australian boxing.
At least, that was the plan.
Instead, Zerafa chalked up a small win of his own ahead of his July 7 showdown.
The entire premise of the event – unbeknownst to Zerafa – was to unveil a name change for the location of the super welterweight bout: the Tszyucastle Entertainment Centre.
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Only told by Main Event’s Ben Damon once on stage, with the team at No Limit waiting in anticipation, Zerafa instead chose to avoid the antics of last week’s press conference that saw the 29-year-old unload.
“It’s alright,” a reserved Zerafa told Damon. “They can re-name it after I beat him.”
Zerafa then watched a grinning Tszyu unveil the signage, before making his way outside the arena to see the big block letters of ‘TSZYUCASTLE’ at the entrance.
And while Zerafa suggested all the talk was set to stop ahead of a fight that’s been years in the making, he couldn’t help but take a little joy in ruining the moment
“They flew me out here to try and get a reaction out of me, but I just stayed cool, calm and collected,” Zerafa told foxsports.com.au.
“It’s not named after Tim Tszyu, it’s named after Kostya Tszyu. He needs to understand that.
“I beat Jeff Horn too; you don’t see a building with my name on it.”
Was it disrespectful, though?
“100 percent,” Zerafa said. “That’s just a stunt from them to try throw a spanner in the works.
“I got under his skin in the first press conference, and if that’s all it’s going to take to get under his skin then it’s going to be a hell of a night for him come fight night.”
Zerafa (28-4) is promising to deliver Tszyu’s biggest test yet, despite only fighting once — a forgetful encounter against Anthony Mundine — since his two 2019 wars against Jeff Horn.
“I’ve got all the tools in the bank to beat him,” Zerafa said. “I’ve got the power, I’ve got the similar style, I’ve got the patience, the range, the height, the size.
“Everything’s going in my favour, despite it being in his backyard.”
For Tszyu, Zerafa represents the last obstacle in Australia – something we’ve heard before, but also a promise that’s been largely out of his control.
While an international opponent was the preference after dealing with Dennis Hogan in Newcastle back in March, a certain global pandemic proved too difficult to overcome, with Zerafa the only option left standing.
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“There was no one else,” Tszyu (18-0) admitted to foxsports.com.au.
But for Tszyu, it’s an opportunity to silence any remaining doubters in the country.
“If I don’t fight Michael, there’d be still be a bit of talk in the Australian public. That’s why the fight got sold out in 24 hours,” Tszyu said.
Tszyu didn’t want Zerafa after he’d lost to Horn back in 2019, and still doesn’t believe Zerafa’s actually done enough to deserve this match-up.
“No, he doesn’t [deserve to fight me],” Tszyu said. “That’s for sure.”
Nevertheless, the two will do battle in a little over two months, with Zerafa happy to take a small win back to Melbourne with him.
“I knew it wasn’t what they thought it was going to be,” he said of his reaction.
“They wanted me to fire up, and for the fans to turn on me again, and they got nothing out of me. They got only respect out of me.
“That’s in their face now.”