Michael Zerafa (born 25 March 1992) is an Australian

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional fights are supervised by a regulatory auth ...

. He held the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

light middleweight Light middleweight, also known as junior middleweight or super welterweight,PeBoxRec/ref> is a weight class in boxing but also may include other combat sports. Boxing The light middleweight division (also known as junior middleweight in the Intern ...

title in 2018.

Boxing career

Early in his career, he was the

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

super-welterweight Light middleweight, also known as junior middleweight or super welterweight,PeBoxRec/ref> is a weight class in boxing but also may include other combat sports. Boxing The light middleweight division (also known as junior middleweight in the IBF o ...

champion.

Zerafa vs. Magomedov

On 24 October 2014, he lost to Arif Magomedov in his first fight outside Australia when challenging for the

WBO The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxin ...

Youth and Asia Pacific

middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have beg ...

titles.

Zerafa vs. Quillin

On 12 September 2015, he lost via

knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, ...

to Peter Quillin in his second fight outside Australia. The impact of the knockout caused him to leave the arena on a stretcher.

Zerafa vs. Kirima

On 22 April 2016, Zerafa defeated Yosuke Kirima for the IBF Pan Pacific middleweight title.

Zerafa vs. Brook

On 5 November 2018, it was announced Zerafa would face

Kell Brook Ezekiel "Kell" Brook (born 3 May 1986) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 2004 to 2022. He held the International Boxing Federation (IBF) welterweight title from 2014 to 2017, and challenged once for a unified middleweigh ...

at the

Sheffield Arena Sheffield Arena, known for sponsorship purposes as Utilita Arena Sheffield, is a multi-purpose arena located in Sheffield, England. It is situated near Meadowhall Centre, Meadowhall and lies between Sheffield city centre and Rotherham town centr ...

on 8 December 2018, in a WBA super-welterweight title eliminator. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Zerafa vs. Sherrington

On 12 April 2019, Zerafa returned home to Australia and defeated Les Sherrington via knockout.

Zerafa vs. Horn

He then defeated Jeff Horn for the WBA Oceania middleweight title in

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is an Australian city in north-central Victoria. The city is located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2022, Bendigo has a popula ...

on 31 August 2019, this time winning via

technical knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

. Horn was ranked #3 by the WBA, #5 by the WBO and #14 by the IBF at middleweight at the time.

Zerafa vs. Ritchie

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.

Zerafa vs. Hardman

On 20 April 2022, Zerafa faced Isaac Hardman in an IBF title eliminator at

Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre The Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC), colloquially referred to as Jeff's Shed, is a group of three adjacent buildings next to the Yarra River in South Wharf, an inner-city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The venues ar ...

where Zerafa would knockout Hardman in the second round.

World title opportunity

Zerafa was originally slated to fight Esquiva Falcão for the vacant IBF middleweight world title. However, Zerafa opted to pursue a

World Boxing Association The World Boxing Association (WBA), formerly known as the National Boxing Association (NBA), is an international professional boxing organization based in Panama. The WBA awards its world championship title at the professional level. Founded ...

title fight against

Erislandy Lara Erislandy Lara Santoya (born 11 April 1983) is a Cuban-American professional boxer. He has held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including the World Boxing Association (WBA) middleweight title since 2023 ( Regular version from ...

, so Falcão is now slated to fight Vincenzo Gualtieri for the IBF title.

Professional boxing record

Personal life

His mother is from Australia and his father is from Malta.

References

External links

*
Michael Zerafa - Profile, News Archive & Current Rankings
a
Box.Live
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zerafa, Michael 1992 births Living people Australian male boxers Middleweight boxers Australian people of Maltese descent Boxers from Melbourne Sportsmen from Victoria (state) 21st-century Australian sportsmen