Jeff Horn turns the tables on Michael Zerafa!
Former WBO welterweight champion Jeff “The Hornet” Horn (20-2-1, 13ko) went to war in a rematch with fellow countryman Michael “Pretty Boy” Zerafa (27-4, 16ko).
The former WBO champion has been on the comeback trail since losing the title to Terence “Bud” Crawford back in 2018. This would include moving up to middleweight and grabbing a good victory over former WBO junior middleweight champion Anthony Mundine.
Team Horn, looking to keep the momentum, decided to ring the phone of Zerafa. This would turnout to be an ill-fated mistake. The former champion suffered a horrible ninth round knockout that saw his boxing stock plummet.
RETURNING TO FORM
Fast forward to December 18 and these two men couldn’t wait to rip into each other again making it a bloody fight. The bout had shades of when the Queensland native knuckled up with then WBO champion Manny Pacquiao.
Horn would come out swing from the first strike of the bell throwing big right-hands making his intentions known. As the fight would go on, both men were landing solid punches that caused cuts over each others eyes.
Zerafa found a home for the right hand in the sixth round as it seemed he was finally finding a rhythm.
DEJA VU?
Once again the dreaded ninth round came, it was in this round that the former champion suffered debilitating knockouts to both Crawford and Zerafa. This time it almost happened again as Horn was seriously hurt.
Immediately he went into survival mode but was taking punishment. The ref stepped in, but this time it was only to have the doctor look at his eye.
The action would resume and Zerafa’s tank was on ‘E.’ He made the mistake of coming forward head high on the centerline and walked into a brutal right hand that sent him to the canvas.
Beating the count and on unstable legs, he would touch the canvas yet again. Barely surviving the round it was clear this would be a critical moment in the fight going into the final round.
Both fighters would labor through the tenth, as the final bell sounded. Team Horn was sure they had the victory and their revenge!
One scorecard had it even 94-all while the others read 98-90 and 97-92 in favor of Horn who not only got revenge but walked out the arena with some jewelry. He took home the WBA and WBO regional titles off his rival.
The crowd cheered and celebrated for the popular former champion. Horn later took to social media showing good sportsmanship for his rival and expressed his excitement.
NEXT MOVE
This victory was needed as it’s tough for a fighter to shake off a devastating defeat and bounce back. Furthermore, undoubtedly a spot in the rankings will take place considering Zerafa was rated #7 by the WBA.
The middleweight division is stacked and it’s unknown if the former champion can compete there full-time. Regardless, at least his confidence has been restored for the moment.
By: Garrisson Bland
