Michael Zerafa goes head-to-head with Anthony Mundine on Saturday night but the Victorian fighter still has one eye on Tim Tszyu.
Wide World of Sports spoke in length to Zerafa ahead of the bout against 45-year-old Mundine, yet it's Tszyu's name that invariably comes up.
And when it does, Zerafa's tone gets a little more fervent and his delivery speeds up right before he explodes into a rant about a potential fight against his bitter rival who is regarded as Australia's pound-for-pound king.
Zerafa confronted Tszyu as he left the ring following his fight with Bowyn Morgan in December, calling out the star for ducking him. The dispute was caught on camera as Tszyu walked away from the Aussie middleweight saying, "Mate I've got a world title to win".
"I'll fight him by the end of the year 100 per cent," Zerafa said. "There's nowhere else for him to go. He's now lost his world title shot because Teixera lost. I've beaten everyone in Australia. He's beaten everyone in Australia."
Tszyu is ranked No.1 contender by the WBO and his team had already negotiated a possible bout with Patrick Teixera, the former champion who lost by dominant decision to Argentine Brian Castano last month.
The deal was if Teixera came through the fight with Castano, Tszyu would be next in line. Now that Castano has taken the belt, Zerafa believes Tszyu's chances of a title shot in the near future are gone and that means he can't avoid him anymore.
"A few months ago he didn't want to fight because he thought he had a title shot with Teixera now he doesn't have that," Zerafa said.
"He can't use that excuse anymore. Castano said , 'Tim Who?' He's got no idea who he is.
"Castano wants to fight Charlo and all the big boys. Now he's the world champion he can make millions he said 'why would I want to fight Tim Tszyu from Australia?'
"Teixera and Tszyu's team worked out a negotiation, if we beat Castano we'll give you a shot but now that he got beaten, Castano's like 'I'm the champion I don't need to do anything'."
If Tszyu can keep his record in tact he will stay the No.1 contender and will eventually get his shot at the title. But how long that will take is anyone's guess. Now that he's champion, Castano's team could push for a huge unification fight with Jermell Charlo, who holds the WBC, IBF and WBA belts. That could leave Tszyu no choice but to take on Zerafa.
The Victorian fighter says his team and Tszyu have been in negotiations for six to eight months about a fight this year. Tszyu denies speaking with Team Zerafa but acknowledged that he might be next in line considering the big money that Charlo attracts in the US, which is sure to lure Castano.
"That could be the case you never know that could happen," Tszyu told Wide World of Sports.
"I'd love to shut (Zerafa) up. I don't think many people like him. It (fight with Zerafa) doesn't progress my career though. I really want the big fights.
"I want world calibre. I've cleaned up Australia but it's all politics. With the likes of Charlo they're on big money."
Tszyu takes on Dennis Hogan in Newcastle on March 31, just a couple of weeks after Zerafa's bout with Anthony Mundine on Saturday. If both men get through those assignments as expected, negotiations are sure to ramp up. However, bad blood between the two camps during talks for a fight last year still gets under Zerafa's skin.
"Last time my manager said 'we don't want the whole pie but we need to get a slice' and we've been backward and forwards with the purse," he added.
"My manager said just get past Mundine and the next fight is going to be Tszyu. Last time they offered everyone else $120,000-$150,000 and they only offered me $65,000-$70,000.
"(For this fight) they said it needs to be in Sydney. We want it to be neutral. Everybody needs to agree but we're very close."
You can watch the Michael Zerafa vs Anthony Mundine fight for $29.95 on www.zerafa.tv or www.mundine.tv on Saturday March 13.
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