'There were other reasons': Michael Zerafa explains scorched earth attack on No Limit after bizarre 24 hours

Michael Zerafa apologised to promoters No Limit over a miscommunication following his non-attendance at Monday's press conference, that led to the Victorian threatening legal action.

Zerafa weighed in at 72.2kg on Tuesday for his WBO intercontinental middleweight stoush with American Mikey Dahlman, which is the co-main event alongside Nikita Tszyu's clash with Lulzim Ismaili on Wednesday night.

It was suggested that Zerafa had deliberately avoided the media gathering on Monday, while No Limit's George Rose was tight-lipped about the fighter's absence.

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Zerafa vehemently rejected the idea that he had elected not to show up, firing off a post on Instagram, which stated that he had been defamed by claims he wilfully stayed away.

However, the post has now been deleted and Zerafa was cordial with promoters on Tuesday. Speaking to Main Event, the No.8 ranked middleweight for the WBA said it was all a "miscommunication".

"I received a call to not attend and I did as I was told to not go," he said.

"And then the media made it out like I did a no show and what not, which infuriated me a little bit. I put out a post and in doing that I had a crack at No Limit. It wasn't No Limit. I was told to not attend for certain reasons.

"I was angry because they made it out like it was a no-show and they were tarnishing my name. I thought that came from No Limit.

"So I apologise to them and George (Rose) handled the situation perfectly without saying too much, there were other reasons. On my end I just did what I was told.

"There's a time and place for everything. If I went out there and made myself look like the villain, then so be it, but I don't want anyone else to make me look like that. Nobody should have to go through what happened yesterday.

"I've worked well with everyone. They flew me to Sydney - why would I not come to the press conference?

"There was a miscommunication somewhere. Definitely one between me and No Limit."

There was reportedly a security issue relating to Zerafa's brother Jason, who was banned for life for punching a rival trainer in the ring during a No Limit event in 2024.

However, the ban had not been formalised.

Reports state Zerafa was told not to attend the press conference until the situation regarding his brother had been resolved.

There are claims No Limit was threatened with legal action if Zerafa attended.

The ban on Zerafa's brother has now been formally set.

Zerafa claimed No Limit spoke to him ahead of the event and urged him not to attend. The security arrangements for the event had reportedly not been formalised due to the looming ban for Zerafa's brother.

Zerafa took to social media later on Monday, saying he was speaking to his lawyers over the inference that he willingly stayed away from the event.

"Let me make this very clear," he shared in a message on social media, which he deleted soon after.

"At 9:41am, I received a call from No Limit telling me I was no longer required at the press conference. When I asked why, the response was vague 'we've had to make some changes.' No further explanation.

"We knew it didn't sit right, so we released a statement two hours before the press conference, laying out the facts. Still, they went ahead and falsely told national TV and streaming audiences that I 'no showed.' That is not just dishonest it's defamation.

"You cannot remove someone, then publicly shame them for not being there. That's a direct attack on my integrity, my professionalism, and my name. And that has real consequences.

"I've spent years building a brand I'm proud of and I won't sit back while others try to damage my reputation to serve their own narrative. This attempt to damage my reputation is serious and it won't be ignored. Our legal team has now been contacted. Enough is enough."

Zerafa's brother Jason rushed to the ring to punch veteran trainer Tommy Mercuri in August last year during the win over Tommy Browne in Sydney, with the incident leading to his ban.