Eubank Jr vs Zerafa fight nears as Brook plots dramatic ring return
Michael Zerafa is confident he'll be the man to welcome Chris Eubank Jr back to the ring. Zerafa, who lost to Kell Brook on points in Sheffield eight years ago, has claimed his team has agreed terms with Eubank Jr's and securing funding is the only obstacle to staging the bout on home soil. The 34-year-old from Australia was in a fight marred by controversy last time out, as his highly anticipated clash against Nikita Tszyu for the vacant IBO International middleweight title in January ended in a no-contest. Zerafa was accused by members of the boxing fraternity of quitting, having told the referee that he couldn't see out of one eye due to a cut from an earlier head clash. 'Pretty Boy' further angered fans when he made a U-turn on his stance post-fight - something he puts down to simply panicking during the situation. Eubank Jr told me he wants to fight, Zerafa claims. "[Eubank Jr] said, 'You're the next guy I want to fight, how do we make it happen?" he explained. "If you get the money we want, consider it done." Eubank Jr hasn't fought since losing a rematch to Conor Benn at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last November. The Englishman's future in the sport was then thrown into limbo when he opened up on undisclosed 'health issues' he'd been dealing with just weeks later. However, it is expected he will make a return at the back end of this year. In March, Eubank Jr's manager Elliot Amoakoh played down talk of a return fight against Edgar Berlanga, who was knocked out by Hamzah Sheeraz last year. Zerafa claims Eubank Jr is eager to fight him and is even happy for the showdown to be staged on enemy territory. He added: "My team and his team, we're all 100 per cent agreed. It all comes down to getting the financials, but in saying that, we've got A, B and C plans backed up." In Eubank Jr's latest fitness update, Amoakoh revealed that the Brighton boxer is 'getting better' day by day. "He's ahead of where we'd like him to be," he said. "But he's not at one hundred per cent at the moment. Hopefully, we can get him in a place where he can fight again at the end of the year." Plenty of options for Eubank Jr's return. Meanwhile, fellow Briton Brook, who is set to end his four-year hiatus from the sport on July 18 at Manchester's AO Arena, has been another name mentioned as a potential comeback fight for Eubank Jr. Super middleweight great Canelo Alvarez may also be available, having previously "promised" an appearance in Britain in a conversation with The Ring Magazine.
