Michael Zerafa says he’s no longer the brash fighter who thought he was “invincible” but instead a “mature” boxer ready to make the most of the biggest opportunity of his career.
Zerafa, who made headlines last year for pulling out of a bout with Tim Tszyu, will fight Issac Hardman on April 20 in Melbourne in an IBF world middleweight title eliminator.
Gennadiy Golovkin holds the IBF middleweight belt, but he’s reportedly set to vacate the title to fight the world’s undisputed super-middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez.
Should Golovkin take that expected path, the winner of the Zerafa-Hardman bout would fight the top-ranked Esquiva Falcao for the IBF world middleweight title.
“This is the opportunity we want,” said 29-year-old Zerafa, who’s won 29 of his 33 fights, 18 by knockout.
“That’s why we put our bodies on the line for opportunities like this. They don’t come every day, so for me. I’m going to grab it with both hands.
“Everyone’s seeing me as old and over the hill. That’s wrong. I’m mature now. The penny’s dropped for me. I’m no longer a boy – I’m a man.”
Zerafa said Hardman, Australia’s middleweight champion who has won all of his 12 professional bouts, did a “lot of wrong things” in the ring.
“There are a lot of mistakes he makes and he relies on that punching power – that’s all he’s really got,” Zerafa said.
“It’s gotten him this far but he’s fighting guys that aren’t A-plus fighters, so I feel like he will struggle in there against a guy of my level.
“When I was young, I was inexperienced, and I thought the same thing that Issac was thinking now that I could fight anybody and that I was invincible.
“I’m at the most dangerous part of my career now.”
Zerafa also remains confident he can beat the undefeated Tszyu, saying the public “don’t understand” the reasons he withdrew from the pair’s scheduled fight on July 7 last year just a week before the bout.
“I still cop it here and there, but it is what it is,” Zerafa said.
“We’re in a pandemic. Unfortunately, not everyone understand what was going on in the world, what was promised and not what was delivered.
“That’s the sport, and I’ll just cop it on the chin and move forward.
“The fight’s (still) there. You’ve got two of the best. I want it (and) he wants it.
“He said he wants to punch on in the carpark, so I’m sure he’ll fight me in a ring.”
