Michael Zerafa | |
|---|---|
 Zerafa in a 2020 promotional film | |
| Born | 25 March 1992 |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Other names | Pretty Boy [1] |
| Statistics | |
| Weight(s) | |
| Height | 180 cm (5 ft 11 in) |
| Reach | 182 cm (72 in) |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 36 |
| Wins | 31 |
| Wins by KO | 19 |
| Losses | 5 |
Michael Zerafa (born 25 March 1992) is an Australian professional boxer. He held the Commonwealth light middleweight title in 2018.
Early in his career, he was the Victorian super-welterweight champion. [2]
On 24 October 2014, he lost to Arif Magomedov in his first fight outside Australia when challenging for the WBO Youth and Asia Pacific middleweight titles. [3] [4]
On 12 September 2015, he lost via knockout to Peter Quillin in his second fight outside Australia. [5] The impact of the knockout caused him to leave the arena on a stretcher. [6]
On 22 April 2016, Zerafa defeated Yosuke Kirima for the IBF Pan Pacific middleweight title. [7]
On 5 November 2018, it was announced Zerafa would face Kell Brook at the Sheffield Arena on 8 December 2018, in a WBA super-welterweight title eliminator. [8] He lost the fight via unanimous decision.
On 12 April 2019, Zerafa returned home to Australia and defeated Les Sherrington via knockout.
He then defeated Jeff Horn for the WBA Oceania middleweight title in Bendigo on 31 August 2019, this time winning via technical knockout. Horn was ranked #3 by the WBA, #5 by the WBO and #14 by the IBF at middleweight at the time. [9]
On 9 November 2019, Zerafa was sparring with Dwight Ritchie when Ritchie collapsed in between rounds after a hit to the chest. Ritchie could not be revived and later died. [10]
On 20 April 2022, Zerafa faced Isaac Hardman in an IBF title eliminator at Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre where Zerafa would knockout Hardman in the second round. [11]
Zerafa was originally slated to fight Esquiva Falcão for the vacant IBF middleweight world title. [12] However, Zerafa opted to pursue a World Boxing Association title fight against Erislandy Lara, so Falcão is now slated to fight Vincenzo Gualtieri for the IBF title. [13]
| 36 fights | 31 wins | 5 losses |
|---|---|---|
| By knockout | 19 | 2 |
| By decision | 12 | 3 |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 36 | Loss | 31–5 | Erislandy Lara | TKO | 2 (12), 2:59 | 30 Mar 2024 | T-Mobile Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. | For WBA middlewieght title |
| 35 | Win | 31–4 | Danilo Creati | UD | 10 | 23 Nov 2022 | Aware Super Theatre, Sydney, Australia | |
| 34 | Win | 30–4 | Issac Hardman | TKO | 2 (12), 1:27 | 20 Apr 2022 | Convention and Exhibition Centre, Melbourne, Australia | |
| 33 | Win | 29–4 | Siliveni Nawai | TKO | 4 (10), 2:55 | 20 Dec 2021 | Melbourne Pavilion, Melbourne, Australia | Retained WBA Oceania middleweight title |
| 32 | Win | 28–4 | Anthony Mundine | TKO | 1 (10), 2:09 | 13 Mar 2021 | Bendigo Stadium, Bendigo, Australia | Won vacant WBA Oceania middleweight title |
| 31 | Loss | 27–4 | Jeff Horn | MD | 10 | 18 Dec 2019 | Convention & Exhibition Centre, Brisbane, Australia | Lost WBA Oceania and WBO Oriental middleweight titles |
| 30 | Win | 27–3 | Jeff Horn | TKO | 9 (10), 2:55 | 31 Aug 2019 | Bendigo Stadium, Bendigo, Australia | Won WBA Oceania, WBO Oriental, and vacant IBF Asia Oceania middleweight titles |
| 29 | Win | 26–3 | Les Sherrington | KO | 2 (8), 1:31 | 12 Apr 2019 | Melbourne Pavilion, Melbourne, Australia | |
| 28 | Loss | 25–3 | Kell Brook | UD | 12 | 8 Dec 2018 | Sheffield Arena, Sheffield, England | |
| 27 | Win | 25–2 | José Agustín Julio | TKO | 3 (10), 1:46 | 31 Aug 2018 | Croatian Club, Melbourne, Australia | Retained WBA Oceania light middleweight title |
| 26 | Win | 24–2 | Wade Ryan | UD | 10 | 1 Jun 2018 | Melbourne Pavilion, Melbourne, Australia | Won vacant WBA Oceania light middleweight title |
| 25 | Win | 23–2 | Adam Harper | UD | 12 | 16 Mar 2018 | Melbourne Pavilion, Melbourne, Australia | Won vacant Commonwealth light middleweight title |
| 24 | Win | 22–2 | Tomás Andrés Reynoso | KO | 6 (8), 2:58 | 17 Jun 2017 | Melbourne Pavilion, Melbourne, Australia | |
| 23 | Win | 21–2 | Renato Oliveira | TKO | 3 (10), 2:32 | 10 Dec 2016 | Melbourne Park Function Centre, Melbourne, Australia | Retained IBF Pan Pacific middleweight title |
| 22 | Win | 20–2 | István Zeller | TKO | 5 (10), 2:32 | 13 Aug 2016 | Melbourne Park Function Centre, Melbourne, Australia | |
| 21 | Win | 19–2 | Yosuke Kirima | UD | 12 | 22 Apr 2016 | Melbourne Pavilion, Melbourne, Australia | Won vacant IBF Pan Pacific middleweight title |
| 20 | Win | 18–2 | Gustavo Alberto Sánchez | KO | 4 (8) | 6 Dec 2015 | Melbourne Pavilion, Melbourne, Australia | |
| 19 | Loss | 17–2 | Peter Quillin | KO | 5 (12), 1:06 | 12 Sep 2015 | Foxwoods Resort Casino, Ledyard, Connecticut, US | |
| 18 | Win | 17–1 | Yuttana Wongda | TKO | 4 (6), 0:49 | 27 Mar 2015 | Malvern Town Hall, Melbourne, Australia | |
| 17 | Win | 16–1 | Bruno Carvalho | TKO | 5 (6), 1:29 | 5 Dec 2014 | La Mirage Reception & Convention Centre, Melbourne, Australia | |
| 16 | Loss | 15–1 | Arif Magomedov | UD | 10 | 24 Oct 2014 | Luzhniki Palace of Sports, Moscow, Russia | For vacant WBO Asia Pacific and WBO Youth middleweight titles |
| 15 | Win | 15–0 | Joe Rea | UD | 8 | 27 Jun 2014 | Malvern Town Hall, Melbourne, Australia | |
| 14 | Win | 14–0 | Luke Sharp | UD | 8 | 27 Feb 2014 | Eatons Hill Hotel, Brisbane, Australia | |
| 13 | Win | 13–0 | Athit Praditphon | TKO | 8 (8) | 13 Dec 2013 | Club Italia Sporting Club, Melbourne, Australia | |
| 12 | Win | 12–0 | Amnat Daengphayap | KO | 2 (8) | 8 Nov 2013 | Malvern Town Hall, Melbourne, Australia | |
| 11 | Win | 11–0 | Anton Olarte | UD | 10 | 7 Jun 2013 | Malvern Town Hall, Melbourne, Australia | |
| 10 | Win | 10–0 | Richard Kenneth Carr | TKO | 3 (6), 0:27 | 19 Apr 2013 | Moonee Valley Racecourse, Melbourne, Australia | |
| 9 | Win | 9–0 | Adrian Campbell | UD | 10 | 21 Feb 2013 | Melbourne Pavilion, Melbourne, Australia | Retained WBC-ABCO Continental light middleweight title |
| 8 | Win | 8–0 | David Galvin | UD | 10 | 16 Nov 2012 | Malvern Town Hall, Melbourne, Australia | Won vacant WBC-ABCO Continental light middleweight title |
| 7 | Win | 7–0 | Ariel Omongos | TKO | 2 (8), 2:34 | 29 Jun 2012 | Malvern Town Hall, Melbourne, Australia | |
| 6 | Win | 6–0 | Faisal Fayad | SD | 8 | 11 Nov 2011 | Malvern Town Hall, Melbourne, Australia | Won vacant ANBF Victoria State light middleweight title |
| 5 | Win | 5–0 | Xingxin Yang | TKO | 4 (6), 1:03 | 26 Aug 2011 | Coburg City Hall, Melbourne, Australia | |
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Aswin Cabuy | UD | 4 | 22 Jul 2011 | Sunshine Roller Skating Centre, Melbourne, Australia | |
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Jean Claude | TKO | 1 (4), 0:45 | 8 Jul 2011 | Malvern Town Hall, Melbourne, Australia | |
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | David Gall | UD | 4 | 1 Apr 2011 | Malvern Town Hall, Melbourne, Australia | |
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Peter Makrypodis | KO | 1 (4), 1:42 | 18 Mar 2011 | Sunshine Roller Skating Centre, Melbourne, Australia |
His mother is from Australia and his father is from Malta. [14]
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