Darren Finn is preparing for another assault on the kickboxing world; and his next fight set to be one of the biggest of his career.
Finn will face Canadian opponent Corey Sullivan at Skilled Park on the Gold Coast, on March 24 for the vacant South Pacific Kickboxing title.
The line-up will feature a number of Australia’s best against international opponents and will be broadcast on Austar.
It will mark an impressive comeback for the 33-year-old, who has bounced back from a difficult year outside the ring, which he is aiming to put behind him in 2012.
“I had a lot of things go wrong in my life last year with the break up of a 12-year marriage,” he said.
“I had a really rough year, but I’ve got my life back on track and this is something that will really get me back to where I need to be.”
Finn has achieved great success in a number of different styles, having won titles in martial arts, Muay Thai boxing and karate and they have earned him recognition in the Spirit Festival Deadly Awards hall of fame.
The hall of fame honours any Aboriginal athlete who has achieved success in their sport and includes lots of rugby league players and boxers like Lionel Rose and Daniel Geale, who Finn names as people who have inspired him.
“I actually had a call from my brother who said I needed to look on this website and it was amazing that they’d put me alongside the likes of Lionel Rose, Anthony Mundine, Hector Thompson and Daniel Geale.
“As an Aboriginal being on this site is just the biggest honour you could ever have.
“It’s something no one can take away from me and will be there for my kids to see in the future.”
If Finn performs well in his title fight against Sullivan, there are potential options for him to fight overseas in Indonesia and the U.S.
Another goal for Finn in the next few months is to try his hands in the increasingly popular mixed martial arts, which would provide a new challenge.
“I think it’s the next logical step from here.
“After a few more fights in boxing I think I’ll be ready to try something different.
“Once I get bored in a particular style, I go, because that’s when you can start to lose focus and get hurt.
“That’s why I’ve gone through different styles of fighting because it’s all something new and each one is a challenge.”
Finn is well aware of the brutality of mixed martial arts but is looking forward to the challenge and said he won’t be disheartened if he’s not an immediate success in the sport.
“In almost everything I’ve done, I’ve lost my first fight, some of them were humiliating but you’ve got to keep focus.”
Preparations for Finn’s first mixed martial arts fight are already in the works and will more than likely be on the cards in the next few months.
In the mean time Finn will continue to train for his fight with Sullivan, who will train out of Mackay in the lead up to the bout in March.
Finn is currently based in Inverell for his training regime, but has been doing lots of travelling to work with sparring partners, to ensure he will have the best possible preparation for the title fight on March 24.
He will also be presented with a Spirit Award in September, acknowledging his achievements during his career.
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