The early portion of the 2026 calendar is building up, and Australian boxing finally gets their long-anticipated wish when Nikita Tszyu faces Michael Zerafa come January 16.

It will be a 157-pound catchweight contest topping a No Limit Boxing pay-per-view show at a location in Queensland, Australia to be announced shortly, ending months of protracted negotiations between the two camps.

Their inaugural press conference took place Wednesday local time, with promotional CEO George Rose emphasising just how important making this fight was.

In a press release, he was quoted as saying: "We've had some false starts along the way. This fight was first meant to happen back in 2021, but circumstances stopped it. I never doubted it would, put the energy out there and knew it would come together, because when you've got two fighters of this calibre, with the level of bad blood that exists, it's inevitable."

Tszyu ended a year-long layoff in August with a first-round stoppage win over Macedonia's previously-unbeaten Lulzim Ismaili, while Zerafa climbed off the canvas to finish Mikey Dahlman during the opening frame of their middleweight contest on that Aug. 20 undercard.

Former title challenger Zerafa (34-5, 22 KOs) is ranked No. 5 by the WBA, No. 8 with the WBO and the IBF's No. 14-rated contender at 160-pounds.

Tszyu, younger brother of former WBO junior middleweight titleholder Tim, sits No. 9 with the IBF and three spots lower by the WBO's 154-pound rankings, so the pair have agreed on meeting in the middle to compromise.

Their encounter was originally slated for a December date, though Australian reports suggest it will now be taken up by Nikita's older brother Tim in a Sydney headliner, his first outing under new Miami-based coach Pedro Diaz. A slight delay suits the 27-year-old, having taken a 10-day training break after being involved in a minor car crash this month.

Rose acknowledged 14-year pro Zerafa is far more seasoned, more than 150 rounds' experience better off than Tszyu, who feels the 33-year-old Melburnian disrespected his family name half-a-decade ago and that ill-feeling has intensified in years since.

"It all started with the disrespectful comments he made about my family years ago - those words stuck with me - this is my chance to close that chapter once and for all. I've heard excuse after excuse about why the fight with my brother didn't happen, he has a way of feeding the media stories to run with. On January 16, I'll have no remorse, have to be a killer, want this to go as long as possible, stay in there, impose myself and put a beating on him."

"Nikita is the most exciting fighter in Australian boxing today, unpredictable, absolute entertainment machine. This is the best possible matchup in Australia right now, both are stars with genuine world-class credentials," Rose added.

Given where both are ranked in their respective divisions, it's not difficult to see where an impressive victory could leave the winner as far as world title aspirations are concerned.

Zerafa shared that he's postponed his overseas wedding to fiance Selin as he welcomes a chance to spoil Nikita's coming out party as the bad guy, having withdrawn from a proposed junior middleweight bout with older brother Tszyu in July 2021.

"People say I ran from the Tim fight, but that's not true. I fought Kell Brook in England, went to Russia and Vegas, fought all around the world in opponents' backyards. I'm more experienced, beaten bigger names but there's no pressure, I'm expected to lose. Nikita is a big puncher but there are levels to this sport, he's made a big mistake."