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A long, rat-tail of hair extends from the back of his head like that of retired Austrailian countryman and former world champion, Kostya Tszyu. The 22-year-old resident of Sydney, New South Wales, fights with Tazmanian Devil-like ferocity -- an approach he likens to that of his late idol, Arturo Gatti.
And if promoter, Gary Shaw, has his way, the rising pugilist, nicknamed, "Lenny Zappa," will be the next big thing to emerge from Down Under.
"He's a good-looking Italian kid, and they say that he resembles Kostya Tszyu and fights like Arturo Gatti," said Shaw. "And everybody's calling him the best fighter to come out of Austrailia."
Zappavigna was in Rancho Mirage, Calif., on Saturday, where his lopsided, six-round, unanimous decision over Sergio Macias (14-19-1, six KOs) raised his record to 22-0, with 15 knockouts at The Agua Caliente Casino.
Although he's competing as a light weight (135 pounds), Zappavigna weighed in a 137 for the nearly 147-pound Macias.
"Lenny Zappa" had little trouble with Macias, nevertheless.
"I like to unleash a bunch of punches like Arturo, who was just a warrior. I've always loved him as a fighter. His style was that he comes to fight, and I fight a bit like him," said Zappavigna.
"Like Kostya Tszyu, I have a bit of the same hairstyle," said Zappavigna. "But then, again, I've got my own type of style of fighting."
Zappavigna's effort was on the undercard of a main event featuring fellow Australian, Vic Darchinyan, who successfully defended his WBC and WBA super flyweight (115) title with a second-round knockout of Tomas Rojas.
Their performances came 10 days after a shocking performance by IBO cruiserweight (200 pounds) champion Danny Green, who also was in attendance at The Agua Caliente Casino following his Dec. 2 first-round knockout of future Hall of Famer, Roy Jones, before a hometown in Sydney.
"Lenny's going to be fighting at 135 pounds, and everybody says he's a good-looking kid," said Shaw. "I believe that he's going to be a superstar."
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