Making his debut for promoters Matchroom, Australia’s divisive Michael Zerafa scored and eighth-round stoppage of Venezuela’s Alejandro Ortiz and then said he’d like to fight Chris Eubank Jnr.
Eubank Jnr has, meanwhile, been linked to a fight with Sheffield’s Kell Brook, who holds a 2018 win over Zerafa.
It wasn’t easy for Zerafa, boxing in the co-main ahead of the heavyweight clash between Teremoana Jnr against DeAndre Savage on Australia’s Gold Coast.
It was not straightforward for Zerafa.
The Australian was told by his corner to calm things down ahead of the second round.
Zerafa looked to double the jab and fire in straight rights. Ortiz was finding gaps for his left hooks and Zerafa nodded approvingly when Ortiz landed a right in the second.
Ortiz was persistent with his attacks and while Zerafa had some success with his rangy shots in the third, he didn’t stop Ortiz from loading up and looking to inflict damage.
“He’s awkward, man,” said Zerafa between rounds. “He’s awkward as shit.”
The Australian landed a good uppercut in the fourth but couldn’t stop Ortiz from bombing forwards, firing big, wide shots, and Ortiz scored with a good right with about 20 seconds remaining in the stanza.
After the fifth, Zerafa checked with his team that he was winning the fight and in the sixth the Venezuelan claimed a Zerafa right hand had caught him on the back of the head. Ortiz was no longer as busy, with the Australian’s left hand beginning to dictate terms.
Zerafa was asked to “go through the gears” ahead of the seventh and Ortiz undoubtedly tired down the stretch, though remained a threat in busts.
Zerafa, however, fired in a volley of shots near the eighth and Ortiz wilted.
He was given a count and, while he made it back to his feet, he was welcomed by a crisp right hand and Zerafa fired away.
Zerafa didn’t manage to get the job done in the remaining time of the round but Ortiz was compassionately withdrawn when, forlorn and exhausted, he slumped on his stool.
The 25-year-old visitor is now 26-2 (25 KOs).
Zerafa, aged 34, is 35-5 (23 KOs).
“It was terrible, I’m not going to sugar coat it,” said Zerafa. “It was good to get the eight rounds. I said to everyone this is a clean slate. I know I let a lot of people down but we’re Aussies and we need to stick together. I want to keep training, get back in there and keep moving.”
At junior-bantamweight, Jasmine Parr and Jemma Peart shared eight fast rounds. Familiar from sparring hundreds of rounds together, Parr held the upperhand throughout and won by 80-72 across the board.
Parr, is 9-2 (3 KOs) and from the Gold Coast, while Peart is also now 9-2 (3 KOs).
Jack Bowen scored an impressive seventh-round stoppage of the game Mielifeier Dalielibieke.
Bowen took a few but landed several smart right uppercuts and was firing away with both hands when China’s Dalielibieke – who vehemently disagreed with the referee’s call but was taking too many punches – was eventually stopped on his feet.
It was all over at 2-15 of the seventh and tough Dalielibieke, stopped for the first time, is now 10-4 (8 KOs).
The 30-year-old Bowen, ranked in the top 15 at 168 by the WBO, is now 14-1 (11 KOs).
Omar El-Abdallah, 6-0 (5 KOs), proved too good for Jordan Towns, 8-5 (7 KOs), at light heavyweight. Towns had been dropped in the third round and was not allowed into the fourth.
