By Ian S Palmer
There’s an intriguing domestic bout down under this Saturday, August 31st as former world champion Jeff Horn will be tangling with Michael Zerafa in Bendigo, Australia in a 12-round middleweight tilt. Horn last fought in November when he stopped fellow Australian and former world champion Anthony Mundine in just 96 seconds. Zerafa last fought in April when he stopped Les Sherrington in the second round. Horn took the vacant WBA Oceania and Mundine’s WBO Oriental Middleweight Titles the last time out and the Oceania belt is on the line against Zerafa.
The 31-year-old Horn of Brisbane is a former physical education teacher who will climb through the ropes with a record of 19-1-1 with 13 Kos to his name. He’s a former Olympian who reached the quarterfinals of the 2012 Games in London, England as a junior welterweight. He turned pro the next year and has fought 127 rounds since. Horn has also won a few inter-continental titles along the way before taking Manny Pacquiao’s WBO world title via a gift decision in July of 2017. He defended it once against Gary Corcoran via an 11th-round TKO.
He was stopped in nine rounds by Terence Crawford in June, 2018 and lost the crown in his second defence. Horn has also beaten the likes of Ali Funeka, Randall Bailey, Ahmed El Mousaoui and Rico Mueller with his lone draw being a three-round technical affair with Rivan Cesaire in August, 2013. Horn stands 5-feet-9-inches tall with a 68-inch reach. He has decent power with a current knockout ratio of 62 per cent. He’s not a finesse boxer by any means as he relies on his aggression to win fights and so far he’s been pretty successful at it, at least until running into Crawford.
As for Zerafa of Melbourne, he was a relative unknown until stepping into the ring with former world champion Kell Brook last December. He showed a lot of heart but dropped a 12-round unanimous decision in England. Zerafa was also stopped by former world champ Peter Quillin in the fifth round in September of 2015 on a nationally-televised bout in North America. Zerafa climbs into the ring with a mark of 26-3 along with 15 Kos and has fought 176 rounds since turning pro back in 2011. He’s not a huge puncher and owns a current knockout ratio of 52 per cent.
Zerafa stands 5-feet-11-inches tall with a 71.5-inch wingspan. This gives him a two-inch edge in height and a 3.5-inch reach advantage on Horn. His other loss was a unanimous decision at the hands of Arif Magomedov in October of 2014. Zerafa has won several regional and minor titles as a pro, but other than Quillin and Brook it’s pretty hard to recognize any of his other opponents. So far he’s captured the WBA Oceania, Commonwealth (British Empire), WBC Asian Boxing Council Continental, and Victoria State Light Middleweight Titles as well as the IBF Pan Pacific Middleweight Championship.
Prediction…
This is another good test for Zerafa and he should put up a good fight. He has a slight edge in height and reach and possesses pretty good skills and a decent chin. Horn has proven to be quite a durable fighter with the limited skills he possesses and he’ll need to use all of them to be successful. This could end up being a very close fight, but if Horn can use movement and speed he should be able to sneak out a win.
