Michael Zerafa

Michael Zerafa
Zerafa in a 2020 promotional film
Born (1992-03-25) 25 March 1992 (age 32)
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
NationalityAustralian
Other namesPretty Boy[1]
Statistics
Weight(s)
Height180 cm (5 ft 11 in)
Reach182 cm (72 in)
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights37
Wins32
Wins by KO20
Losses5

Michael Zerafa (born 25 March 1992) is an Australian professional boxer. He held the Commonwealth light middleweight title in 2018.

Boxing career

Early in his career, he was the Victorian super-welterweight champion.[2]

Zerafa vs. Magomedov

On 24 October 2014, he lost to Arif Magomedov in his first fight outside Australia when challenging for the WBO Youth and Asia Pacific middleweight titles.[3][4]

Zerafa vs. Quillin

On 12 September 2015, he lost via knockout to Peter Quillin in his second fight outside Australia.[5] The impact of the knockout caused him to leave the arena on a stretcher.[6]

Zerafa vs. Kirima

On 22 April 2016, Zerafa defeated Yosuke Kirima for the IBF Pan Pacific middleweight title.[7]

Zerafa vs. Brook

On 5 November 2018, it was announced Zerafa would face Kell Brook at the Sheffield Arena on 8 December 2018, in a WBA super-welterweight title eliminator.[8] He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Zerafa vs. Sherrington

On 12 April 2019, Zerafa returned home to Australia and defeated Les Sherrington via knockout.

Zerafa vs. Horn

He then defeated Jeff Horn for the WBA Oceania middleweight title in Bendigo on 31 August 2019, this time winning via technical knockout. Horn was ranked #3 by the WBA, #5 by the WBO and #14 by the IBF at middleweight at the time.[9]

Zerafa vs. Ritchie

On 9 November 2019, Zerafa was sparring with Dwight Ritchie when Ritchie collapsed in between rounds after a hit to the chest. Ritchie could not be revived and later died.[10]

Zerafa vs. Hardman

On 20 April 2022, Zerafa faced Isaac Hardman in an IBF title eliminator at Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre where Zerafa would knockout Hardman in the second round.[11]

World title opportunity

Zerafa was originally slated to fight Esquiva Falcão for the vacant IBF middleweight world title.[12] However, Zerafa opted to pursue a World Boxing Association title fight against Erislandy Lara, so Falcão is now slated to fight Vincenzo Gualtieri for the IBF title.[13]

Professional boxing record

37 fights 32 wins 5 losses
By knockout 20 2
By decision 12 3
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
37 Win 32–5 Tommy Browne RTD 1 (8), 2:00 28 Aug 2024 ICC Sydney Theatre, Sydney, Australia
36 Loss 31–5 Erislandy Lara TKO 2 (12), 2:59 30 Mar 2024 T-Mobile Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. For WBA middlewieght title
35 Win 31–4 Danilo Creati UD 10 23 Nov 2022 Aware Super Theatre, Sydney, Australia
34 Win 30–4 Issac Hardman TKO 2 (12), 1:27 20 Apr 2022 Convention and Exhibition Centre, Melbourne, Australia
33 Win 29–4 Siliveni Nawai TKO 4 (10), 2:55 20 Dec 2021 Melbourne Pavilion, Melbourne, Australia Retained WBA Oceania middleweight title
32 Win 28–4 Anthony Mundine TKO 1 (10), 2:09 13 Mar 2021 Bendigo Stadium, Bendigo, Australia Won vacant WBA Oceania middleweight title
31 Loss 27–4 Jeff Horn MD 10 18 Dec 2019 Convention & Exhibition Centre, Brisbane, Australia Lost WBA Oceania and WBO Oriental middleweight titles
30 Win 27–3 Jeff Horn TKO 9 (10), 2:55 31 Aug 2019 Bendigo Stadium, Bendigo, Australia Won WBA Oceania, WBO Oriental, and vacant IBF Asia Oceania middleweight titles
29 Win 26–3 Les Sherrington KO 2 (8), 1:31 12 Apr 2019 Melbourne Pavilion, Melbourne, Australia
28 Loss 25–3 Kell Brook UD 12 8 Dec 2018 Sheffield Arena, Sheffield, England
27 Win 25–2 José Agustín Julio TKO 3 (10), 1:46 31 Aug 2018 Croatian Club, Melbourne, Australia Retained WBA Oceania light middleweight title
26 Win 24–2 Wade Ryan UD 10 1 Jun 2018 Melbourne Pavilion, Melbourne, Australia Won vacant WBA Oceania light middleweight title
25 Win 23–2 Adam Harper UD 12 16 Mar 2018 Melbourne Pavilion, Melbourne, Australia Won vacant Commonwealth light middleweight title
24 Win 22–2 Tomás Andrés Reynoso KO 6 (8), 2:58 17 Jun 2017 Melbourne Pavilion, Melbourne, Australia
23 Win 21–2 Renato Oliveira TKO 3 (10), 2:32 10 Dec 2016 Melbourne Park Function Centre, Melbourne, Australia Retained IBF Pan Pacific middleweight title
22 Win 20–2 István Zeller TKO 5 (10), 2:32 13 Aug 2016 Melbourne Park Function Centre, Melbourne, Australia
21 Win 19–2 Yosuke Kirima UD 12 22 Apr 2016 Melbourne Pavilion, Melbourne, Australia Won vacant IBF Pan Pacific middleweight title
20 Win 18–2 Gustavo Alberto Sánchez KO 4 (8) 6 Dec 2015 Melbourne Pavilion, Melbourne, Australia
19 Loss 17–2 Peter Quillin KO 5 (12), 1:06 12 Sep 2015 Foxwoods Resort Casino, Ledyard, Connecticut, US
18 Win 17–1 Yuttana Wongda TKO 4 (6), 0:49 27 Mar 2015 Malvern Town Hall, Melbourne, Australia
17 Win 16–1 Bruno Carvalho TKO 5 (6), 1:29 5 Dec 2014 La Mirage Reception & Convention Centre, Melbourne, Australia
16 Loss 15–1 Arif Magomedov UD 10 24 Oct 2014 Luzhniki Palace of Sports, Moscow, Russia For vacant WBO Asia Pacific and WBO Youth middleweight titles
15 Win 15–0 Joe Rea UD 8 27 Jun 2014 Malvern Town Hall, Melbourne, Australia
14 Win 14–0 Luke Sharp UD 8 27 Feb 2014 Eatons Hill Hotel, Brisbane, Australia
13 Win 13–0 Athit Praditphon TKO 8 (8) 13 Dec 2013 Club Italia Sporting Club, Melbourne, Australia
12 Win 12–0 Amnat Daengphayap KO 2 (8) 8 Nov 2013 Malvern Town Hall, Melbourne, Australia
11 Win 11–0 Anton Olarte UD 10 7 Jun 2013 Malvern Town Hall, Melbourne, Australia
10 Win 10–0 Richard Kenneth Carr TKO 3 (6), 0:27 19 Apr 2013 Moonee Valley Racecourse, Melbourne, Australia
9 Win 9–0 Adrian Campbell UD 10 21 Feb 2013 Melbourne Pavilion, Melbourne, Australia Retained WBC-ABCO Continental light middleweight title
8 Win 8–0 David Galvin UD 10 16 Nov 2012 Malvern Town Hall, Melbourne, Australia Won vacant WBC-ABCO Continental light middleweight title
7 Win 7–0 Ariel Omongos TKO 2 (8), 2:34 29 Jun 2012 Malvern Town Hall, Melbourne, Australia
6 Win 6–0 Faisal Fayad SD 8 11 Nov 2011 Malvern Town Hall, Melbourne, Australia Won vacant ANBF Victoria State light middleweight title
5 Win 5–0 Xingxin Yang TKO 4 (6), 1:03 26 Aug 2011 Coburg City Hall, Melbourne, Australia
4 Win 4–0 Aswin Cabuy UD 4 22 Jul 2011 Sunshine Roller Skating Centre, Melbourne, Australia
3 Win 3–0 Jean Claude TKO 1 (4), 0:45 8 Jul 2011 Malvern Town Hall, Melbourne, Australia
2 Win 2–0 David Gall UD 4 1 Apr 2011 Malvern Town Hall, Melbourne, Australia
1 Win 1–0 Peter Makrypodis KO 1 (4), 1:42 18 Mar 2011 Sunshine Roller Skating Centre, Melbourne, Australia

Personal life

His mother is from Australia and his father is from Malta.[14]

References

  1. ^ "BoxRec: Michael Zerafa". boxrec.com. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  2. ^ Rogers, Andrew; Leader, Hume (5 April 2016). "Craigieburn boxer Michael Zerafa fights for Pan Pacific belt". Herald Sun. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  3. ^ "New Faces: Arif Magomedov - The Ring". 9 December 2015.
  4. ^ "Zerafa aims to 'ice' hot Mogomedov".
  5. ^ "Quillin stops Zerafa in fifth with powerful right". 12 September 2015.
  6. ^ "Update: Zerafa doing well after scary KO". 12 September 2015.
  7. ^ "The Voice of the Maltese No. 131". 4 July 2016.
  8. ^ "Kell Brook to fight Michael Zerafa on December 8, live on Sky Sports".
  9. ^ "Horn vs Zerafa - News, Tape, Ringwalk, TV, Streaming & Tickets". Box.Live. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  10. ^ "Australian boxer Dwight Ritchie dies in a training accident aged 27 - ABC News". ABC News. 9 November 2019.
  11. ^ "Michael Zerafa vs. Issac Hardman: Zerafa scores second-round KO victory - Sporting News". 14 April 2022.
  12. ^ Rafael, Dan (16 March 2023). "Notebook: 'Zurdo' returns, turns page after being outclassed by Bivol". danrafael.substack.com.
  13. ^ Orban, Jonny (15 March 2023). "Kampf um IBF-WM: Mega-Chance für Gualtieri und AGON!".
  14. ^ "Michael Zerafa: 'I'm not a stripper; I'm a boxer' - The Ring". 1 September 2015.
Achievements
Preceded by WBO Oriental middleweight champion
August 31 – December 18, 2019 		Succeeded by
Jeff Horn