Michael Zerafa talked the talk, created the hype, signed the contract, and then went silent.
That’s how the Tim Tszyu camp sees it, at least. Tszyu vs Zerafa Fight
After swearing off trash talk, going silent over a medical complication, and then a COVID-19 lockdown in Victoria, Zerafa has left Tszyu scratching his head.
“It has surprised me,” Tszyu told foxsports.com.au.
“I thought he would have been going on with his antics as he always has throughout this whole three or four years, how he’s acted.
“If he was like this he wouldn’t have got the fight. So, once he got the fight, it all changed.”
It’s been a surprising development in the lead up to the July 7 fight at the Newcastle Entertainment Centre that many believed would be the most bitter of Tszyu’s career.
The two went back and forth at their introductory press conference, before Zerafa abstained from causing a scene a week later when he was set up by promoters.
“The talk stops,” Zerafa told foxsports.com.au back in May. “I don’t want to be that person.”
“Because that’s not me,” he said. “I love the sport. I don’t want to tarnish it and be that [Conor] McGregor.
“… For me, I just wanted to get the fight. The fight’s here, the talk stops now.”
For Tszyu, the reason isn’t so benevolent. He’s listened to Zerafa ridicule his rise for the last few years and thinks he’s now in self-preservation mode.
“The more you talk, and the more you act like this … when you do lose, it all ends up crumbling and falling,” he said.
“So, I think he’s just trying to help himself out by not making himself look like a fool. At the end of the day, the only thing he’s done is make himself look like a fool for the last three years.”
If Zerafa stops talking now, then he can still “come back”, according to Tszyu.
“The only person to have ever done it is Floyd Mayweather; talk that much s*** and then come away … untouchable,” he said.
“Michael Zerafa is not Floyd Mayweather, and I think he’s realised that.”
For No Limit Boxing CEO George Rose, the whole thing doesn’t really add up.
“I’ve been very surprised, to be honest. For the last two years, Zerafa hasn’t been able to take Tim’s name out of his mouth,” Tszyu v Zerafa fight on Kayo Sports
“I remember when Tim announced that he had a hit list of Australian boxers that he wanted to fight, Zerafa was on that list.
“I know there was a lot of talk that started from then and it’s continued through to the day that the fight was agreed. And then as soon as the fight was agreed, that was it. It was absolute silence. It’s strange to me.
No comments:
Post a Comment