Michael Zerafa says talks have already begun for an all-Australian blockbuster with Tim Tszyu in 2025, stressing his longtime rival is no longer required in the US after being “found out”.

Less than 24 hours after Tszyu was brutally stopped in Sunday’s IBF blockbuster against Bakhram Murtazaliev, Zerafa says there is now nothing else for his famed adversary but a domestic showdown sometime early next year.

The declaration comes as Zerafa also said Tszyu had finally paid the price for “talking s***”, fighting arrogant and falling for the ongoing spin of his “hype team”.

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While initially being talked up as Nikita Tszyu’s next opponent, the fighter dubbed ‘Pretty Boy’ said discussions with Aussie promoters No Limit were already ongoing for a fight with big brother — and potentially at a catchweight.

While stressing he had only seen highlights of Tszyu’s brutal loss in Orlando, Florida, Zerafa accused the title challenger of fighting “arrogant” and of getting caught up in claims of usurping Hall of Fame father Kostya Tszyu.

“As you can see now though,” Zerafa added, “he’s nothing like his father”.

While it has now been three years since his initial showdown with Tszyu was controversially canned, Zerafa says a showdown now has to happen after ‘The Soul Taker’ suffered a second consecutive world title defeat.

Unthinkable only days ago — when Tszyu was being talked up for the likes of Jermell Charlo, Terence Crawford, even Canelo Alvarez — the Aussie is now being urged by the likes of Main Event analyst Shawn Porter to take some fights domestically after being dropped four times in three rounds by Murtazaliev before his corner thrown in the towel.

It was the second straight defeat for Tszyu, who also suffered a bloody split decision loss against Sebastian Fundora in March when trying to unify the WBO and WBC titles.

While will the 29-year-old will likely take some time off after this latest loss, Zerafa said he was happy to wait until early the first third of next year for the fight.

Australia’s boxing bad boy also said he had a simple answer for all those Aussie sports fans trying to make sense of Sunday’s result.

“I can tell you exactly what happened, Tim Tszyu has been found out,” Zerafa fired.

“I’ve been saying for a long time the guy he isn’t who everyone thinks he is.

‘But Tszyu, he has a great hype team around him.

“And he believed it.

“He believed his own hype and got found out

“As you can see now, he’s nothing like his father.”

Soon after Zerafa continued: “Tszyu talked s*** and this is what happens.

“He came into this fight saying he was going to fight Canelo.

“Saying he was going to fight Crawford, fight Charlo, yet he forgot about the guy who was fighting at the weekend — an undefeated champ who was right in front of him.

“Tim was fighting a genuine world champion …. and he overlooked him.”

Asked his thoughts on the fight, Zerafa continued: “Look, I’ll be honest, I’ve got better things with my Sundays than watch Tim fight.

“But my phone, it’s been blowing up.

“People haven’t stopped calling and texting.

“And yes, I do feel for Tim because he’s an Aussie who has just lost.

“I’ve been there myself, and it is a s*** feeling.

“But when you’ve been talking so much smack, it’s probably a chance to feel what he should be feeling.”

Zerafa said, from highlights of the fight he had been shown — and from what others were saying — Tszyu had opened the contest fighting “arrogant”.

“Just completely underestimated his opponent,” he said of Murtazaliev, who entered the contest undefeated in 10 years and 22 straight fights.

“But he (Tszyu) always does that.

“I was there in Las Vegas, back in March, when the same thing happened against Sebastian Fundora.

“Tim was talking about fighting Crawford, Spence — he was scheduled to fight Fundora.

“And now in the lead up to this fight too he was bagging Murtazaliev — saying all sorts of things — but the champ came in cool, calm, collected.”

So as for Tszyu-Zerafa finally taking place Down Under in 2025?

“We’ll, they don’t want him in the States anymore,” Zerafa said.

“Behind the scenes too, there was already talk that if I won against Nikita, then I got Tim.

“But there was also talk that if Tim got beat (against Murtazaliev, I went straight to him.

“So our fight, it has to happen now.

“It will happen, too.

“And you’re going to see the same outcome as happened Sunday.

“I stop Tim Tszyu, 100 per cent.

“I’ve been saying it since day one.

“And while it’s unfortunate our first fight didn’t happen — for a number of reasons — I still see the same outcome as back then.”

Zerafa added he also now has little interest in a fight with Tszyu’s younger brother, who is also undefeated and coming off hand surgery.

“Initially I was meant to fight Nikita and then he injured his hand,” Zerafa said.

“He required surgery and I was fine with that.

“That’s what he had to do.

“But it’s not Nikita for me now, it’s Tim.

“We’ve got unfinished business.

“He fights me and I put an end to this thing once and for all.”

Asked his thoughts on Tszyu potentially taking a long layoff, given he was knocked down four times in the weekend’s headliner, Zerafa continued: “I’ll be waiting for Tim.

“And if that means we don’t fight until March or April, OK.

“I’ll be going overseas to train and get some quality sparring done.

“I’ll come in 100 per cent ready for that fight.”

But as for the fight taking place at super welterweight , middleweight or somewhere in between?

“That is something we will have to sit down and talk about” he said.

“But Tim Tszyu is the guy, remember, who has been talking about going up to fight Canelo.

“Who once talked about fighting at heavyweight.

“So I’m ready to sit down and find a happy medium somewhere.”