Michael Zerafa has blamed a “misunderstanding” for the press conference drama which led to him making legal threats on social media on Monday.
The Victorian was nowhere to be seen at the traditional pre-fight presser ahead of a No Limit Boxing pay-per-view in Sydney on Wednesday, set to be headlined by the return of Nikita Tszyu.
Zerafa is booked to face American Mikey Dahlman in the chief support.
After his absence was addressed by promoter George Rose and several of the other fighters during the press conference, Zerafa took to social media with a now-deleted post, labelling the treatment “defamation” and accusing those involved of attempting to “publicly shame” him and attack his integrity.
“This attempt to damage my reputation is serious and it won't be ignored,” the Zerafa statement read.
“Our legal team has now been contacted. Enough is enough.”
However, at Tuesday’s weigh-in, in which all fighters successfully made weight, Zerafa had cooled down slightly, blaming the media for their portrayal of the situation.
“Straight out, I got up in the morning, what I thought was going to be a great day to come here and do a press conference and I was told not to attend, so I didn’t rock up,” he explained.
“I did what I was told and then put out a statement, because I knew there was something shifty going on behind the scenes, so I released something a little bit earlier because I knew they were going to paint the picture that I did a no-show and didn’t rock up and whatnot.
“I thought it was No Limit, so I apologise to No Limit, but the media above No Limit made it out like I did a no-show and [were] just up to their antics.
“I just did what I was told, I was told not to attend for certain reasons, I’m still in the air with that, which made me mad, because they always paint a picture that is never true and on my behalf, I thought it was No Limit and I apologise, it wasn’t No Limit, it was certain media outlets.
“Nothing changes, I was never demotivated, this is just a normal fight camp for Michael Zerafa, trouble finds me, I don’t know why, I don’t know how, but it is what it is.”
With the customary fight-week drama behind him, Zerafa can now focus on the challenge of the hard-hitting Dahlman, who counts 16 knockouts on his record.
“I believe I will [make a statement],” he added.
“Mentally I’m in a different place, I feel a bit like Nikita [Tszyu] at the moment, a bit all over, a bit quirky, I feel good.
“Everything’s running smooth, besides yesterday’s little hiccup, but, again, it was a misunderstanding.”
No Limit Boxing/Gregg Porteous
Zerafa has been linked to a potential fight with Nikita Tszyu next, provided they both win their fights at the ICC Sydney Theatre on Wednesday.
The pair traded some verbal barbs through the media over the past week, with Tszyu labelling Zerafa a “coward” following his cancelled 2021 bout with older brother Tim.
In return, Zerafa said Nikita’s recent revelation that he’d been using his wife’s placenta as a supplement and drinking breast milk was “Jeffrey Dahmer sh*t.”
Despite fighting on the same card, Tszyu said there was no tension this week.
“We’re all smiles. Even at the [public workouts], I shook his hand, we smiled, everything’s okay,” Tszyu said.
“Apparently, he was saying some sh*t afterwards about me but, I dunno, I dunno.”