Tim Tszyu's camp rubbishes Michael Zerafa fight, Keith Thurman destroys Brock Jarvis

Michael Zerafa's hopes of a showdown with Tim Tszyu have been dashed, with Tszyu's camp making it clear that the Melbourne fighter's opportunity has passed. The Tszyu team harbors resentment due to Zerafa's last-minute withdrawal from their scheduled fight in 2021, citing the COVID-19 pandemic as an excuse, and they have long since excluded him from consideration. This lingering disappointment has solidified their stance against a potential match.

Zerafa secured the vacant WBO Inter-Continental middleweight title with a TKO victory over German boxer Besir Ay on Wednesday night at the Hordern Pavilion in Sydney. Following the fight, he renewed his challenge to Tszyu, expressing his desire to one day fight for a world title. The referee stopped the bout one minute into the seventh round after Zerafa knocked his opponent down twice within 20 seconds, demonstrating his dominance.

However, Tszyu's manager, Glenn Jennings, stated that no amount of money could entice Tszyu to fight Zerafa, suggesting he would be better off targeting Tszyu's undefeated younger brother, Nikita. "I can tell you there's no financial upside for Tim to fight Zerafa," Jennings said. "It's a matter of principle for Tim, it's all about how things went down." This firm stance underscores the deep-seated issues preventing a potential match.

Tszyu lost his WBO title after a defeat to Sebastian Fundora last year. Jennings indicated that Tszyu has bigger goals to achieve, and Zerafa is not part of his plans. "Tim has his goals, we've got plans in place for Tim, he has to go through a process now, and Michael's not in that," Jennings said. "I can never say it will never happen, maybe it's Tim's last fight in his career, they might be 50 if they're still around." The focus remains on future opportunities for Tszyu to reclaim his position.

Meanwhile, Keith Thurman called out Tszyu after a devastating third-round KO of Brock Jarvis. Thurman dropped Jarvis with a flurry of punches before ending the fight with a vicious uppercut midway through the third round. The referee quickly stopped the super-welterweight contest after the American floored Jarvis again with a savage left hook. Thurman stated that he wants Tszyu to defeat his American compatriot Joey Spencer on April 6 in Newcastle so that he can have the opportunity to challenge the former Australian WBO champion. "Yeah, I just raised your bar, Tszyu," Thurman said. "First fight in three years, you saw what I did." Thurman's impressive victory has positioned him as a potential challenger for Tszyu.