Australian boxer Issac Hardman has had some choice words for countryman and opponent Michael Zerafa ahead of their massive bout this week.
The pair will face off on Wednesday, with a shot at the IBF middleweight title against Brazil’s Esquiva Falcao the prize.
The feud exploded last month at a pre-fight event, and Hardman wants to make it clear that this isn’t some manufactured beef that will be squashed upon the fight’s completion.
READ MORE: Warriors burned by bizarre Bunker decision during loss
READ MORE: Storm stars desperate for Munster to stay
READ MORE: Big gun on the market earlier than expected
“He would like it to be fake, and then we can be friends after – he tried to do that at the press conference – but that’s not how I was brought up. If you say certain things, you stand by it,” Hardman told Wide World of Sports.
“I do not like this guy – just the sight of him makes me want to punch the blood from his nose. He lacks the qualities of a good man; no integrity, he flips on his word, he says one thing and does another.
“Now he’s calling me a racist? He’s just plucking shit out of the air, and as a man, that’s just shit. I can’t wait to smash him.”
In the UFC, we recently saw long-time rivals Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya shake hands and embrace after their epic title fight, despite saying they wouldn’t, but this particular rivalry seems to run deeper than that.
“There’s always an appreciation of a combat athlete after a fight, and I can respect him for getting in there with me and me rendering him unconscious, but as a man? I can’t see eye-to-eye,” Hardman said.
“I doubt the water will be under the bridge after the fight, but maybe with time.
“There’s just some people on earth who aren’t your cup of tea and thankfully I get to punch his face in. I treat people how they treat me. You’ve got to give respect to get respect, and he hasn’t shown me any either.”
Regardless of his personal opinions on Zerafa, Hardman acknowledges this to be the biggest challenge of his career. Boasting a 12-0 record as a boxer since switching from mixed martial arts in 2017, the Queenslander knows the danger that his opponent brings – not that’s he’s worried about it.
“I’m so excited. That’s the one thing my coach and I keep saying – he’s not excited about this fight like I am. Yes, he’s got the runs on the board – he fought Kell Brook who was a welterweight, Jeff Horn who was an overweight welterweight, so let’s put that in perspective,” Hardman said.
“He’s pulled the wool over a lot of people’s eyes in Australia to be this classy boxer who’s got ‘too much skill for Hardman’.”
The 25-year-old has racked up the wins in quick time, rattling off four wins in 2021 alone.
But has being undefeated, and a rising star, put a target on his back?
“I was the guy that people didn’t want to fight – it was hard to get opponents,” he said.
“But that would be my mindset – if I had some guy who was 12-0, saying ‘I’m the best’ and hooting and hollering, I’d want to smash him to pieces – but maybe that’s not for everyone.”
Whatever the case, he just wants to keep fighting.
“The biggest thing in boxing is inactivity. You learn on the job and the only way to get better is to keep doing it.
“If the opportunities come to keep busy, I’ll stay busy, because I want to get paid – but I have a feeling that after I steamroll Zerafa it’ll slow down a little bit, because of what’s next. You can’t just jump into a world title on a few weeks’ notice, that will take time.”
Australian boxing is in a fantastic position at the moment, and Hardman is confident he’ll be the next name on a list of top dogs that he quickly rattles off.
“We are in a really good spot – there’s Jai Opetaia with his world title fight, Ebanie Bridges just won a world title, George Kambosos has unified the division, Skye Nicholson’s over there, Demsey McKean, Liam Paro, Tim Tszyu’s number two mandatory challenger for Castano/Charlo – and I’ll be the next one,” he said.
After quickly evolving from being the ‘MMA guy’ in the boxing world, he’s now one fight away from fighting for a world title – which he hopes can take place later this year.
“I’m getting married exactly two weeks from tomorrow so I’ll smash Michael Zerafa to pieces, marry my beautiful wife, go to Fiji on my honeymoon and then I’ll be back,” he said.
“September, October, November – something like that would be awesome. And with him being Brazilian it won’t sell in America, and I understand that, so there’s a very good chance he could land here on home soil.”
Zerafa v Hardman will be available on pay-per-view on Fite TV.
For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here!