Zerafa vs Dahlman Predictions: ‘Pretty Boy’ rolls into town… if he can be bothered

World-ranked middleweight Michael Zerafa takes on Mikey Dahlman at the ICC Convention Centre in Sydney this Wednesday, August 20. The fight features on pay-per-view in Australia, serving as chief support to Nikita Tszyu vs Lulzim Ismaili. No broadcast information for the UK or America is forthcoming. 

Here are my Zerafa vs Dahlman predictions ahead of this middleweight showdown.

Zerafa vs Dahlman Odds

Zerafa is a comfortable 1/25 favourite here. Dahlman is 10/1 to produce the upset for a 9.1% implied chance of victory. The draw is marketed at 22/1.

Zerafa vs Dahlman Fight Preview

This event is one of those classic semi-final style pay-per-views designed to build interest in a fight between two boxers competing separately on the night. In the spotlight are headliner Tszyu and Zerafa. The idea behind the promotion is that each man will come through against moderate opposition before squaring off in an all-Australian dust-up in December.

The plan appeared to be derailed somewhat when Zerafa neglected to turn up for a promotional press conference this week. The former WBA title challenger maintains he was asked by promoters No Limit not to attend. But those behind the event claim the 33-year-old was a no-show. Zerafa does have history of both late withdrawals and antagonising the Tszyu clan.

Zerafa was meant to fight the other son of the legendary Kostya Tszyu, Tim, in 2021. But he pulled out after his camp expressed concerns with the event’s COVID-19 protocols. But Michael remains fixated on the elder Tszyu brother, having set the table for a fight with him in countless interviews over the ensuing years.

Such is his single-minded focus, Zerafa claimed this week to have no interest in even fighting Nikita Tszyu. A decision you would expect someone to make before agreeing to compete on an entire pay-per-view structured to deliver that match-up later in the year.

But Zerafa’s mouth is perhaps the most compelling thing about him these days. He was KO’ed in two rounds when challenging for Erislandy Lara’s WBA middleweight title last year, which seemed to put the brakes on his career at world level.

Zerafa has had his moments in big fights. While he lost on points, British boxing fans will remember him rocking Kell Brook and making the Sheffield man look very ordinary back in 2018. Zerafa has traded wins with Manny Pacquiao’s controversial conqueror, Aussie idol Jeff Horn. He also had the considerable honour of closing the career of one of Australia’s most famous boxing sons. Zerafa stopped Anthony ‘The Man’ Mundine in one round in 2021. 

But as the memorable nights have become less frequent, the antics have ramped up. Being a firebrand can extend the career of a boxer. Zerafa has always pushed buttons. Now he’s hammering them so hard the Genius Bar couldn’t fix them. 

To be honest, such tomfoolery is welcome in the build up to a fight like this. Dahlman is an 18-1 trier from Chicago whose sole defeat was a knockout at the hands of journeyman Fidel Munoz. Beating the 43-37-1 Colombian in a rematch does not inspire me. Neither do any of his 17 other wins, all against journeymen in fights lasting under six rounds. 

Zerafa will not need to take Dahlman into deep waters to drown him. But even if ‘Pretty Boy’ somehow cannot do what Munoz did and get rid of the American early, it would take something seismic to knock the Aussie off-course.

Zerafa vs Dahlman Full Card

Nikita Tszyu vs Lulzim Ismaili

Michael Zerafa vs Mikey Dahlman

Ahmad Reda vs Bruno Tarimo

Brock Jarvis vs Sam Beck

Jasmine Parr vs Efasha Kamarudin

Jacob Clenshaw vs Isaias Sette

Brandon Grach vs TBA

Ashleigh Heal vs Shannon Rose 

Blair Geraghty vs Naki Saguba

Zerafa vs Dahlman Prediction

If Zerafa shows up, he wins. I don’t mean that in terms of “if he shows up and performs”. I mean if he physically arrives in the ring at bell time. Not always a guarantee with the precocious ‘Pretty Boy’. But he’s got this one in the bag at 1/25. Good luck trying to convince him to fight Nikita Tszyu, though.

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