Longtime rival Michael Zerafa has delivered a stinging reality check to Tim Tszyu after his successful comeback fight, declaring he “won’t survive” with the best in his division.
Tszyu returned to the ring in dominant fashion with a unanimous decision victory over the previously undefeated Anthony Velazquez, who was left a bloodied mess by the end of the fight.
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The Australian clearly had the upperhand in the early rounds of the fight and rarely looked threatened, although the Tszyu of old would have likely went in for the kill and got the finish.
The fact that Tszyu didn’t get the knockout was a sign of growth according to the man himself, who told Main Event’s Ben Damon after the fight that he didn’t want to repeat past mistakes.
“I really just wanted to feel comfortable in there,” Tszyu said.
“I wanted to get in the ring, no try go for the KO and get reckless. In the past, that’s what actually came wrong by me. I wanted to take my time, use my jab. I have all the skills in the world, I just need to apply them.”
Zerafa, however, clearly disagreed as he gave a brutal assessment on Tszyu’s performance and what it says about his ambitions of eventually working his way back up to another shot at the world title.
Tszyu v Velazquez: Full Fight Highlights | 07:38
“Tim should’ve got him outta there in three rounds,” Zerafa said on Main Event’s post-fight coverage.
“I feel like it’s a worse Tim – he still looked like he didn’t know what he was doing. He couldn’t finish him, he was prancing around a little bit.
“You’re fighting a guy that wasn’t throwing any punches. I know it’s easier said than done, I’m a fighter, I’ve been in there and there’s criticism from the outside saying do this, do that. But I just feel like old Tim is better.”
“Piece of s***!” – Nikita RIPS Zerafa | 03:54
Tszyu had previously spoken about wanting to return to the global boxing stage, having suffered a shock defeat to Bakhram Murtazaliev in their IBF super welterweight world title fight last year.
That loss derailed Tszyu’s career, but the hope is that Wednesday’s win can act as a springboard to bigger and better things for the former world champion. Zerafa isn’t so sure.
“If he’s fighting like that, you’re not going back to the top,” Zerafa said.
“I’m not saying that as a hater, or as me and Tim don’t like each other, it’s as a pure boxing lover and from the outside. There’s killers out there in my division and his division.
“Doing that, you won’t survive. That’s just the truth. I actually want him to come out there and make a statement, and have his moment of Tim’s back, and potentially a bigger fight with me and him, or another Aussie winning a world title. But I wasn’t impressed.”
Zerafa is set to fight Tim’s brother Nikita on January 16, with a potential grudge match with Tim to follow.
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