Nikita Tszyu and Koen Mazoudier have delivered a tense, but strange, press conference with the man nicknamed ‘The Butcher” delivering one of boxing’s most bizarre lines, after a heated exchange between fellow fighter Michael Zerafa and Tommy Browne nearly turned physical.
Mazoudier, speaking ahead of an Australian super welterweight title bout, admitted he felt “overlooked” with so much talk about a potential future fight between Tszyu and Zerafa.
“Yeah a little bit, but only by people who don’t know what they are talking about, people that are in the know… the guys that have been around boxing know this is a real fight,” he said.
BOXING: NIKITA TSZYU V MAZOUDIER | WED 28 AUG 7PM AEST | Order Now with Main Event on Kayo Sports.
“I had someone say to me this is the most prestigious, real high level Australian title fight in a long time and I have to agree.
“The level of quality of where we at in our careers, this is a very high quality fight, you can see we are both here relaxed and happy.
“But we are going to try and tear each other’s head off, this is my art form. This is what I love doing… the ring is my canvas, these are my paint brushes and Nikita’s blood is going to be my paint Wednesday night.
“It’s going to be war, it’s going to be blood, it’s going to be fun. This is what I live for, it’s what I love doing. Real fights, the big stage, big stakes… modern day gladiator s***.
“We are coming to try and kill each other… we are going to try and hurt each other as good as we can.”
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Then came Tszyu’s reply when asked if Mazoudier’s graphic words excited him, saying: “Yeah for sure, it’s the exact same thoughts that I have had in my head.
“Everything that comes out of his mouth is something I preach, so I fully respect everything he stands for and it’s going to be a great night.”
Host Ben Damon then asked: “Did you like that bit about the blood on the canvas? That sounded like one of yours”.
To which Tszyu replied: “Yeah, I got a little s****y just then” before Mazoudier said “mate, keep that to yourself, I don’t want to see that”.
Meanwhile, the fighters in the co-main event also delivered an equally entertaining exchange, with Aussie boxing bad boy Zerafa and veteran Tommy Browne coming face-to-face.
Browne took aim at Zerafa, claiming he’s looking ahead of his next opponent and instead eyeing a fight with Tszyu later this year should he beat Mazoudier.
‘Too caught up with Timmy and Nikita’ | 02:01
Zerafa’s last fight was a second round knockout loss to Erislandy Lara in Las Vegas, but before that his last fight was in November 2022, recording a win against Danilo Creati.
Meanwhile, Browne’s last two bouts were in Thailand, with Zerafa calling him nothing more than an “opponent”, accused him of fighting “ladyboys” and said he should have retired 10 years ago.
“I did. But I’m back,” Browne replied.
Browne then took aim at Zerafa’s performance against Lara, saying: “You talk about getting in the ring with the best middleweight in the world, you did but what did you do?
“You looked at the ref, you nodded your head, you quit like a little girl. You had an opportunity to go and win a world championship and you laid down.”
Browne then labelled his opponent a “donkey” and a “clown” and took exception to the talk about Zerafa facing Tszyu.
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“You’re that one that’s been doing all the talking. You’ve been too caught up talking about Timmy and Nikita and I’ve been focused and training … we’ll see on Wednesday,” Browne said.
Tensions then reached boiling point when Browne said “I’d flog you outside here too mate” to which Zerafa replied “You want to flog me? Come flog me now?”.
The pair then had to be restrained by promoter George Rose, before Zerafa sat down and said: “You talk a big game but you do f*** all.
“I feel great, I’ve been here before. Tommy Browne is not going to bring anything I haven’t seen before apart from that receding hairline.
“I’ve done it all before, fought at the top level … there’s nothing left to prove, I bring the excitement. Without me there’s no controversy, no nothing.”
Zerafa confirmed he’d “love to fight Nikita Tszyu” but both men will have to get their respective jobs done on Wednesday night.
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