Michael Zerafa’s bout against Tommy Browne descended into chaos after a fracas broke out between the fighters’ teams in the middle of the ring.
Browne withdrew after a dominant first round from Zerafa, citing an injury to his bicep as he quit on his stool.
Australian boxer Zerafa, unimpressed with his opponent’s withdrawal, expressed his anger towards Browne with a verbal tirade, prompting the loser’s coach, Tommy Mercuri, to march the boxer across the ring.
That led to floods of people from both camps entering the square circle, with Zerafa’s brother bursting through the ropes and making a beeline for Mercuri.
He was then seen connecting with a right hand on the coach’s chin in shocking scenes.
In the aftermath, Zerafa could be heard yelling ‘you quit’ in Browne’s direction before calling out Nikita Tszyu.
‘I was in first gear. Nikita, I’m comin’!’
The ugly scenes led to outrage on social media and boxing pundit Peter Badel called for a life ban to be imposed against Zerafa’s brother.
A boxing trainer was punched by a fighter’s brother in ugly scenes in Sydney
Michael Zerafa beat Tommy Browne after his opponent withdraw after one round
Zerafa was incensed that the fight was stopped early and chaos ensued
‘I don’t think his brother should be involved in boxing again. That was disgraceful,’ Badel said.
American boxing legend Shawn Porter said he wants to see the matter ‘go to court’.
‘That’s unacceptable. If Michael knows his brother has the ability to do that… he shouldn’t be in his corner,’ Porter said.
Zerafa’s brother, dressed in a grey tracksuit, was promptly removed from the premises.
Drama at the end of #ZerafaBrowne
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— No Limit Boxing (@NoLimit_Boxing) August 28, 2024
‘It was a dog shot,’ Mercuri told Fox Sports. ‘I didn’t even see it — just felt it.
‘But he couldn’t even knock out his father. I’m as old as his father.’
Elsewhere, Nikita Tszyu secured his 10th consecutive win to propel himself into the world’s top 15 super welterweight rankings after stopping Koen Mazoudier in the ninth round.
‘I had to work for that, it was not easy,’ Tszyu said.
‘I have to take my hat off to Koen, he’s one tough, tough guy.
Elsewhere, Nikita Tszyu extended his perfect record to 10 fights unbeaten
But the Aussie star had to work for his victory over Koen Mazoudier in Sydney
‘There was a point in the middle where I was kind of out of my feet, I had to kind of push through and dig deep.’
After coming out to the Led Zeppelin standard ‘Whole Lotta Love’, Tszyu was patient in the opening round.
Tszyu gradually broke down his opponent, alternating between stinging blows to the head and vicious body shots, but Mazoudier also enjoyed some success.
Asked if a Tszyu-Zerafa fight was next, No Limit promoter chief executive George Rose said ‘Let’s do it.’
Victorian Zerafa, who landed more shots in a pretty uneventful first round against 41-year-old Browne, was booed on his way to the ring and also after the fight.
‘I love all the haters, keep on hating, Zerafa ain’t going f***ing nowhere,’ Zerafa said.
