Nikita Tszyu and Michael Zerafa remain on course for an all-Australian boxing showdown after registering wins in contrasting fashions in Sydney on Wednesday.
Tszyu scored a ninth-round stoppage of Koen Mazoudier in an exciting contest, winning the vacant WBO intercontinental and IBF Australasian super welterweight titles and earning top 15 rankings with both organisations.
Zerafa’s catchweight fight with veteran Tommy Browne was an anticlimax, however, with the latter retiring between the first and second rounds due to a bicep injury.
There was more action after the fight, with Zerafa’s brother crossing the ring and throwing a punch at the vanquished fighter’s trainer, Tommy Mercuri.
A brief melee in the ring at the ICC Sydney ensued before the two camps were separated and order was restored.
Conversely, the main event had plenty of in-fight action with Mazoudier proving a tough opponent, peppering Tszyu’s head with several right hand blows, especially in the seventh and eighth.
"I had to work for that, it was not easy,” Tszyu said.
“I have to take my hat off to Koen, he’s one tough, tough guy.
"There was a point in the middle where I was kind of out of my feet, I had to kind of push through and dig deep.”
After coming out to the Led Zeppelin standard 'Whole Lotta Love', Tszyu was patient in the opening round.
Tszyu gradually broke down his opponent, alternating between stinging blows to the head and vicious body shots, but Mazoudier also enjoyed some success.
Asked if a Tszyu-Zerafa fight was next, No Limit promoter chief executive George Rose said “Let's do it.”
Victorian Zerafa, who landed more shots in a pretty uneventful first round against 41-year-old Browne, was booed on his way to the ring and also after the fight.
"I love all the haters, keep on hating, Zerafa ain’t going f***ing nowhere,” Zerafa said.
Zerafa, who suffered a second-round loss to WBA middleweight world champion ErIslandy Lara in March, was having his first fight under trainer Glenn Rushton, who mentored his old foe Jeff Horn.
Meanwhile, Brisbane-based Irishman Conor Wallace scored a split-decision, 12-round points win over Auckland-based Englishman Jerome Pampellone. It proved a close battle in an IBF light heavyweight world title eliminator and fight for the vacant WBO intercontinental title.
Wallace, who was cheered on by a large contingent of fans, landed several smart combinations while Pampellone responded with some strong right hands.
Police ejected at least one spectator from the arena after a cup was thrown during the fight that almost hit Pampellone’s trainer, Isaac Peach.
Other winners on the card included unbeaten prospects Jasmine Parr (6-0), Max McIntyre (5-0), Billy Polkinghorn (3-0), Sonny Knight (3-0) and Dharringarra Trewhella (3-0).
AAP aw/ns
