Denis Douglin is out, and the veteran Derrick Findley (22-16-1, 14 KOs) is in as the opponent for Star Boxing’s undefeated, Australian sensation Zac Dunn in the super middleweight Main Event on Saturday night, October 24, at The Paramount in Huntington, New York.
Douglin perforated his left eardrum in a recent sparring session, and is not fit to fight under doctor’s orders, it was announced today by Star Boxing president Joe DeGuardia. Due to the 11th hour injury, Dunn’s American unveiling will not be in defense of his IBO Super Middleweight Championship, and is instead a 10-round contest.
Findley is certainly ring-ready, coming off a third-round TKO of the veteran Antwun Echols just a week ago on October 17 in Indiana. He is a 31-year-old native of Chicago, fighting out of Gary, Indiana. Matchmaker Ron Katz says that Findley is “very tough, and always comes to fight.”
Dunn, the just-signed “Wonder from Down Under,” is in his final preparations at the nearby Academy of Boxing in Huntington Station, a stone’s throw from where he will make his United States debut. There is a final workout open to the media on Thursday at 3:30 PM.
DeGuardia has choreographed an action-packed undercard to accompany Dunn’s bow in Saturday’s installment of the popular Rockin’ Fights series.
In one co-featured attraction, undefeated beauty Alicia Napoleon(4-0, 4 KO’s/Lindenhurst, NY) will make her Paramount debut against Kita Watkins (7-13, 1 KO/Tyler, TX) for the IWBF Interim Woman’s World Title.
In the second co-feature, Hicksville’s Anthony Karperis (11-1, 4 KO’s), on the heels of his devastating KO win on the last Rockin’ Fights show, returns in an eight-round Super Lightweight bout against Tyrone Luckey (7-4-2, 5 KO’s/Middletown, NJ).
In a “Battle of the Boroughs” for Brooklyn bragging rights between two Star Boxing standouts, unbeaten Constantin Bejenaru (9-0, 3 KO’s/Brooklyn) will square off against Joel Shojgreen (8-1, 7 KO’s/Queens) in an eight-round Cruiserweight contest.
Queens native and a definite crowd pleaser, Danny Gonzalez (9-0, 3 KO’s/Woodhaven, NY), puts his career unbeaten streak on the line when he takes on tough Justin Johnson (6-9-4/Pittsburgh, PA) in a Junior Welterweight matchup.
Dunn is now ranked #8 by the WBC and has reeled off 18 straight professional victories without a defeat, including 15 by way of knockout. Fighting exclusively in Australia as a professional, Dunn will be making his American debut at The Paramount.
Dunn comes off a snazzy 12-round decision over the well-thought-of Max Bursak, the winner of 31 career fights, to take the vacant IBO title on June 27 to secure the belt at the Royal Exhibition Building in Carlton, Australia. His previous five triumphs were all scintillating knockouts in seven rounds or less. Two ultra-impressive KOs were second round annihilations of Beibi Berrocal, a 14-time winner, on March 6, and Kyung-Suk Kwak on March 16, 2014, setting the stage for Zac’s shot at the title. Dunn did not disappoint the Australian faithful.
