- Zerafa had defeated fighter Tommy Browne in a technical knockout victory.
- The violence spilled over when his brother entered the ring.
- The judge said he acted with an “element of stupidity”
The brother of Australian boxer Michael Zerafa has been sentenced for an illegal fight in a boxing ring after assuming his brother was being attacked.
Jason-Manuel Zerafa, 26, was arrested on August 29 and charged with one count of common assault after a fight at the Sydney International Convention Centre the previous night.
He made his first appearance at Downing Centre Local Court on Monday with his lawyer Upol Amin, where he immediately pleaded guilty.
“A boxing ring is usually a place of lawful violence, but in this situation we have unlawful violence in the boxing ring,” the lawyer told Magistrate Chris Longley.
His brother Michael Zerafa scored a technical knockout against Tommy Browne, but the victory was overshadowed when Jason-Manuel Zerafa threw a punch at Browne’s trainer, 60-year-old Tommy Mercuri, after the two corners exchanged words.
Browne suffered a biceps injury in the first round of the fight and did not come out of his corner for the second round, a move that appeared to infuriate his opponent.
Jason-Manuel Zerafa (second from left) pleaded guilty to common assault after punching coach Tommy Mercuri
Magistrate Chris Longley said Jason-Manuel Zerafa (right) acted with an “element of stupidity”
Mr Longley did not sentence Jason-Manuel Zerafa on Monday but imposed a six-month conditional discharge order for the assault.
He said that although blood was thicker than water, it did not allow the younger brother to act as he did with an “element of stupidity.”
He also noted that an apology had been sent to Mr Mercuri through a letter filed with the court.
Earlier on Monday, Mr Amin said his client had jumped the ropes after seeing Mercuri “getting into a confrontation” with Michael Zerafa and assumed he would throw a punch.
“He saw the hands of his brother, Mr. Michael Zerafa, come down and face an experienced, bare-knuckle boxer,” the lawyer said.
Words were exchanged between the 26-year-old and the coach in the spontaneous incident before it turned violent.
Mr Amin said his client, who worked as a security guard and was studying nursing, was a man of good character who had no criminal record anywhere.
She also suffered from spending six hours in custody after the arrest, missing her flight back to Victoria, where she lives, and being the subject of negative social media posts after the media reported on the assault, Amin told the court.
Michael Zerafa had previously scored a TKO victory over Tommy Browne.
Mr. Mercuri suffered minor injuries that did not require treatment, police said after the assault.
The police prosecutor unsuccessfully sought a conviction, arguing that the fact that the fight had been broadcast around the world and watched by countless people had brought the sport of boxing into disrepute.
“I have to say there is a certain sense of irony in that,” Mr Longley replied.
The sergeant responded by saying that there was a community expectation that people in a boxer’s corner, who were seen by the public as trainers, should not enter the ring to start fights.
Promoter No Limit Boxing confirmed it has issued Jason-Manuel Zerafa a lifetime ban for the “unacceptable” incident.
The fight was the co-main event of a card headlined by Nikita Tszyu’s ninth-round TKO victory over Koen Mazoudier.
Michael Zerafa fought for the WBA middleweight title in March, but was stopped by Cuban Erislandy Lara.