Furious Zerafa fires back, threatens legal action after press conference drama
In a statement released to Instagram page, Zerafa added to a morning of intrigue after he was initially declared a mysterious no-show at a press event attended by the likes of Nikita Tszyu -- who is back headlining the event after a year off -- plus Brock Jarvis and Brandon Grach.
The Zerafa absence was the biggest story of the Monday press event, and revived memories of his famed 2021 fight cancellation against Tim Tszyu.
Yet the fighter dubbed Pretty Boy said that, rather than going AWOL, he was told by No Limit to stay away, and suggested he had been defamed after it was hinted that he had decided not to attend.
In his statement, Zerafa started: 'Let me make this very clear.
'At 9:41am, I received a call from No Limit telling me I was no longer required at the press conference. When I asked why, the response was vague 'we've had to make some changes'. No further explanation.
'We knew it didn't sit right, so we released a statement two hours before the press conference, laying out the facts.
'Still, they went ahead and falsely told national TV and streaming audiences that I 'no showed'. That is not just dishonest, it's defamation.
'You cannot remove someone, then publicly shame them for not being there. That's a direct attack on my integrity, my professionalism, and my name. And that has real consequences.
'I've spent years building a brand I'm proud of and I won't sit back while others try to damage my reputation to serve their own narrative. This attempt to damage my reputation is serious and it won't be ignored. Our legal team has now been contacted. Enough is enough.'
The drama started around midday on Monday when it became obvious Zerafa wasn't in attendance for what was expected to be an explosive press conference showdown with Nikita Tszyu – and only 24 hours after accusing The Butcher of embarrassing his Hall of Fame father Kostya.
Asked about the fighter's absence, No Limit boss George Rose didn't shed any light on the situation however did stress that the world ranked middleweight would be in attendance for Tuesday's weigh-ins.
The bizarre chain of events came as both Zerafa and the younger Tszyu sibling were expected to use the event -- and Wednesday card -- to springboard into a massive domestic grudge match in December.
A bout between the pair would continue a long-running feud between the Melburnian and Australia's most famous fight family.
On Wednesday night, Zerafa takes on American Mikey Dahlman (18-1), while Tszyu headlines against undefeated European prospect Lulzim Ismaili (12-0).
Should they both win, No Limit are keen to have the two rivals square off in a stadium show.
Over the weekend, Zerafa suggested Nikita Tszyu's increasingly weird behaviour was an embarrassment to everything his famous dad Kostya had built.
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