An ‘angry’ Issac Hardman has labelled Michael Zerafa a “coward” and blames the Victorian fighter for Fox Sports’ snub of their IBF middleweight world title eliminator fight.
Hardman, Australia’s middleweight champion and Zerafa have the ultimate chance to seize on a world title shot when they take to the ring on April 20 at the Melbourne Convention Centre.
The winner of the bout will go to No.2 in the IBF middleweight standings and will fight current No.1 ranked Brazilian Esquiva Falcao for the world title after current champion Gennady Golovkin confirmed his interest in taking on Canelo Alvarez in a trilogy fight at Super Middleweight later in September.
That move has set the wheels in motion for Golovkin’s IBF middleweight title to become vacant.
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Golovkin is expected to earn at least $10 million for the bout but both he and Canelo must first get past other opponents. Canelo next faces Dimitry Bivol in May, and Golovkin needs to beat Japan’s Ryoto Murata on April 9.
This means an Australian is guaranteed to fight for the world title, yet the bout between the Aussie contenders won’t be available on Fox Sports or Kayo. Rather, it will be broadcast on Fite TV.
According to Hardman, the upper brass at Fox Sports haven’t forgotten about Zerafa’s last-minute cancellation against Tim Tszyu last July, which reportedly left them more than a $1 million out of pocket.
“It’s really disappointing not only for me and the other people on the undercard. This card and this fight is one of the biggest to be made in Australia,” Hardman told Wide World of Sports.
“I’m a Fox Sports fighter, I’ve been on there seven times. I’ve got the headway I’ve got because of that platform. It’s because of that coward Michael Zerafa and what he done cost them so much money. This fight isn’t on Fox Sports because of Michael Zerafa – end of story.
“I can’t string a sentence together towards Zerafa because he’s as dumb as a box of rocks.
“(Promoter) Dean Lonergan was certain this fight was going to be on Fox Sports. There was a committee, and all of them had said yes until the day after Michael Zerafa pulled out of the SAS show.
“The guy we needed to say yes said ‘Nah we’re not doin’ it’. If I was Fox Sports and I saw that pathetic effort on SAS where he pulled out with a shoulder injury, I wouldn’t have put it on either. He looks like a liability. When it doesn’t go his way, he runs.
“I can’t blame them, they’ve lost a whole heap of money with that guy. I’m not even mad at the guy who said no because if it was my company fronting up that money I’d say no as well because the guy has got no integrity and no backbone. Any sign of adversity he folds.”
Zerafa was approached to comment on the broadcast arrangements for the fight but refused to speak to Wide World of Sports.
Sources told WWOS, Fox Sports will entertain a partnership with Zerafa further down the road if he can get past Hardman.
Since losing a majority decision to Jeff Horn in 2019, Zerafa recorded knockout victories over Anthony Mundine and Siliveni Nawai.
The 25-year-old Hardman is coming off a win over Adam Stowe via a fourth-round technical knockout in Brisbane in December last year.
Now both men are just two wins away from a potential world title, something Hardman says he’s been waiting for. The Queenslander acknowledges Zerafa has the big-fight experience but he’s not worried.
“He fought an old Kell Brook who’s a welterweight. Jeff Horn’s best division was at welterweight,” Zerafa said. “He fought Peter Quillin, he’s a genuine middleweight, and we saw what happened there he got pulled out on a stretcher.
“When he’s stepped up he’s fallen. When he beat Jeff Horn, Horn overlooked him and that was his undoing. He’s a little guy. I’m a big middleweight and when I get my hands I’m going to f—-n smash him to pieces.”
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