Anticipation is brewing, ahead of this much-debated bout, where Tim Tszyu will endeavour to safeguard his newly-acquired, Interim WBO junior middleweight title, positioning him as the leading contender for a showdown against the Unified junior middleweight world champion, Jermell Charlo (35-1, 19 KOs), with all the titles at stake.
There’s been plenty of chatter suggesting Tszyu’s forthcoming challenge will prove his sternest test yet. Some have tossed about terms such as ‘firefight’, ‘a roll of the dice against this formidable Mexican’, and ‘utter madness’. Yet for those in the know, it’s mere window dressing.
Carlos Ocampo (37 – W35 – 23 KOs), a gritty Mexican with an attack-oriented style, once vied for the World title in 2018, squaring off against the exceptional Errol Spence Jnr and falling to a knockout. More recently, he challenged the towering southpaw, Sebastian Fundora, narrowly losing on points.
Currently, Ocampo sits in the top 20 rankings with the WBC, WBA, and IBF, sitting 11th with the WBO and 17th with the IBO.
During their encounter in October 2022, Fundora succeeded in staggering Ocampo, but failed to land the coup de grâce, allowing Ocampo to claw his way back, throwing wild haymakers from up close, before Fundora regained control to comprehensively outbox Ocampo in the latter stages.
In a triumphant return this March, Ocampo prevailed over Mauricio Gutierrez Castor, winning by TKO.
Tszyu’s camp specifically selected Ocampo for his attacking style, as well as his Mexican heritage. Though a somewhat limited pugilist and an easy target, Ocampo shows heart and excels at close-quarters combat.
Ocampo tends to leave himself exposed to right hooks and uppercuts, which Tszyu is expected to exploit mercilessly throughout the fight.
Tszyu’s management has hitherto done a sterling job of building his reputation, biding their time for the opportunity to take on the American ‘Iron Man’, Jermell Charlo. Yet patience is wearing thin.
Tszyu must step up to the plate and fight superior adversaries if he wishes to be taken seriously as a competitor to Charlo. Charlo, a Houston native who is currently training with long-time coach Ronnie Shields, routinely outclasses fighters of Harrison and Ocampo’s calibre in sparring. I’ve witnessed it firsthand.
In our opinion, this bout with Ocampo is smoke and mirrors. It’s challenging to gauge Tszyu’s true mettle when his opponents are of lower standing. These victories may boost his confidence and prove a ratings hit in Australia, but after 22 fights, it’s clear there are more competitive match-ups to be had.
Halfway around the world, in the UK and the US, Tszyu remains largely unknown. As a promoter who regularly champions Australian fighters, I can attest to this personally.
When we brought up Tszyu’s stoppage win over Tony Harrison to a crowd at the renowned Wild Card Gym in LA, it was met with derision and dismissive remarks that Harrison is past his prime.
While Ocampo is not quite washed up, he’s been brought in to provide a foil, and it’s expected that Tszyu will make short work of him in style.
Prediction: Tszyu by TKO in the 7th round.
Tszyu vs Ocampo: Broadcast LIVE on SHOWTIME® at 11:30 p.m. ET/8:30 p.m. PT – Weigh-in results:
Tim Tszyu 69.5kg vs. Carlos Ocampo 69.74kg
(Tszyu’s interim WBO Super Welterweight World Title — 12 Rounds)
Judges: Daniel Sandoval (USA), Masakazu Murase (JAP), Christopher Condon (AUS)
Referee: Danrex Tapdasan Esq. (PHL)
WBO Supervisor: Jack Daniel Leigh
Sam Goodman 55.24kg vs. Ra’eese Aleem 55.18kg
(IBF Super Bantamweight World Title Eliminator — 12 Rounds)
Judges: Daniel Sandoval (USA), Masakazu Murase (JAP), Adam Height (AUS)
Referee: Kats Nakamura (JAP)
IBF Supervisor: Ben Keilty
Justin Frost 63.2kg vs. Hassan Hamdan 63.4kg
(For Frost’s Australian Super-Lightweight title – 10 Rounds)
Rocky Ogden 56.78kg vs. Mark Schleibs 55.76kg
(Catchweight – 6 Rounds)
Vegas Larfield 55.12kg vs. Jhunrille Castino 54.8kg
(Super-bantamweight – 6 Rounds)
Troy Pilcher 109.04kg vs. Hasely Hepi 130.5kg
(Vacant Queensland State Heavyweight title – 8 Rounds)
Liam Talivaa 104.3kg vs. Isaac Liki 117.8kg
(Heavyweight – 4 Rounds)
