James DeGale likely to face Fulgencio Zuniga on December 8

European super middleweight champion James DeGale had to scramble to find a new opponent after Kenny Anderson fell out for a December 8 fight, and Corey Erdman reports on Twitter that Fulgencio Zuniga will likely be the replacement.

Zuniga (25-6-1, 22 KO) is a stereotypical Colombian puncher, short on craft but with some power. He's dangerous, but also not dangerous, so to speak. He's lost just about all of his fights against notable opposition, with defeats at the hands of Daniel Santos, Kelly Pavlik, Denis Inkin, Lucian Bute, Tavoris Cloud, and most recently, Thomas Oosthuizen. Zuniga was downed by Oosthuizen via decision on November 10 in South Africa, so he'd be making a quick turnaround here.

His most recent win came in July, when he knocked out high-ranking similarity score opponent Alejandro Berrio in seven rounds. He also has wins over David Lopez, Antwun Echols, Victor Oganov (ending Ogano's undefeated run), and Jose Luis Zertuche.

Without question, DeGale (13-1, 9 KO) will be the heavily favored fighter, and a loss would be a huge blow for him at this point. He'll be expected to win. The bout would be non-title, as Zuniga isn't European and all that, but DeGale does have an agreement to defend his title on January 26 against Mouhamed Ali Ndiaye. DeGale last fought on October 13, beating Hadillah Mohoumadi in his first fight under the Hennessy Sports banner after splitting with Frank Warren.

Channel 5 will broadcast DeGale's bout on December 8.