By Ian S Palmer
Unbeaten Tim Tszyu of Australia will be taking on Carlos Ocampo of Mexico this Saturday, June 17th as he defends his interim WBO Jr Middleweight Belt. The 12-rounder takes place in Broadbeach, Australia and can be seen live in America on Showtime. Tzsyu last fought in March when he stopped former world champion Tony Harrison in the ninth round to capture the interim title. Ocampo last boxed in March as well when he haled Mauricio Castor in the fifth round.
The Tszyu name is well known in boxing as Tim is the son of former world champion Kostya Tszyu and the 28-year-old climbs into the ring with a perfect mark of 22-0 with 16 Ko’s. He stands just under 5-feet-9-inches tall with a 72-inch and possesses better-than-average power with an impressive current knockout ratio of 72.7 per cent but has gone the distance in two of his last three fights.
He’s boxed 116 rounds since making his pro debut in 2016 following a good amateur career and has also captured the interim WBA Oceania, WBO Asia Pacific, WBC Asian Boxing Council Continental, IBF Australasian, Commonwealth, WBO Global, and Australian Super Welterweight Titles since turning pro. Tszyu’s first step up in class came in August, 2020 when he stopped former world champion Jeff Horn in the seventh round.
Tszyu has also faced legitimate contenders in Terrell Gausha and Takeshi Inoue as they both fought for world titles in the past and also has wins over the likes of Dennis Hogan, Wade Ryan, Jack Brubaker, Ruben Webster, Larry Siwu, Denton Vassell, Joel Camilleri and the late Dwight Ritchie. He’s taking a step in the right direction again here as he isn’t sitting around waiting for a title fight against undisputed champion Jermell Charlo, who he was supposed to meet in January but Charlo broke his hand and the fight was called off.
Ocampo is 27 years old and owns an impressive record of 35-2 with 23 Ko’s to his name. He turned pro back in 2012 and has 192 rounds under his belt since then. He was a fine amateur who won silver medals at the Mexican National Olympiads in 2009 and 2011. Ocampo just over 5-feet-10 inches tall with a 73-inch reach which gives him a two-inch height advantage and one-inch edge in reach on Tszyu.
Ocampo has a pretty good chin even though his first pro defeat came by stoppage to Errol Spence Jr in a shot at the IBF Welterweight Title in 2018 as he was caught cold in the first round. His other loss came to Sebastian Fundora via unanimous decision last October in a shot at the interim WBC Super Welterweight Belt. Ocampo also possesses better-than-average power with a current knockout ratio of 62.2 per cent and has stopped nine of his last 12 opponents.
The biggest wins of Ocampo’s career have come against Jorge Paez Jr, Johnny Navarrete, Charlie Navarro, Adrian Perez and Daniel Echeverria. He won the vacant WBC Latino Super Welterweight title in January, 2022 when he stopped Omir Rodriguez in the first round and added the vacant WBC Continental Americas Super Welterweight Crown in March by stopping Mikael Zewski in the ninth round.
Prediction
Tszyu isn’t quite at the same level as his famous his father but is getting there as he possesses plenty of power and speed in his fists. Ocampo is also a good boxer with power of his own and has a slight size advantage. This doesn’t appear to be an easy fight for Tszyu but he’s not likely planning on outboxing Ocampo. He needs to work his way inside and batter Ocampo to the head and body, eventually wearing him down. I’m expecting Tzsyu to earn a victory in another hard-fought battle at home.
