- Ugly scenes erupted inside the boxing ring on Wednesday
- An Australian fight descended into chaos, with a coach punched
- Shawn Porter called for severe punishment following the incident
Michael Zerafa’s bout against Tommy Browne descended into chaos after a fracas broke out between the fighters’ teams in the middle of the ring.
Browne withdrew after a dominant first round from Zerafa, citing an injury to his bicep as he quit on his stool.
Australian boxer Zerafa, unimpressed with his opponent’s withdrawal, expressed his anger towards Browne with a verbal tirade, prompting the loser’s coach to march the boxer across the ring.
That led to floods of people from both camps entering the square circle, with Zerafa’s brother bursting through the ropes and making a beeline for Browne’s coach.
He was then seen connecting with a right hand on the coach’s chin in shocking scenes.
In the aftermath, Zerafa could be heard yelling ‘you quit’ in Browne’s direction before calling out Nikita Tszyu.
‘I was in first gear. Nikita, I’m comin’!’
The ugly scenes led to outrage on social media and boxing pundit Peter Badel called for a life ban to be imposed against Zerafa’s brother.
A boxing trainer was punched by a fighter’s brother in ugly scenes in Sydney
Michael Zerafa beat Tommy Browne after his opponent withdraw after one round
Zerafa was incensed that the fight was stopped early and chaos ensued
‘I don’t think his brother should be involved in boxing again. That was disgraceful,’ Badel said.
American boxing legend Shawn Porter said he wants to see the matter ‘go to court’.
‘That’s unacceptable. If Michael knows his brother has the ability to do that… he shouldn’t be in his corner,’ Porter said.
Zerafa’s brother, dressed in a grey tracksuit, was promptly removed from the premises.
Elsewhere, Nikita Tszyu secured his 10th consecutive win to propel himself into the world’s top 15 super welterweight rankings after stopping Koen Mazoudier in the ninth round.
More to follow.
