With all of the buzz about Errol Spence Jr. vs. Terence Crawford taking up all of the oxygen the last two days, Saturday’s Showtime fight live from Australia is flying under the radar. Interim WBO junior middleweight champion Tim Tszyu (22-0, 16 KOs) will put his undefeated record and interim title on the line as he faces Carlos Ocampo (35-2, 23 KOs). Although we would have all preferred that the opponent was the undisputed champion Jermell Charlo (35-1-1, 19 KOs), we all must wait a little longer as he recovers from a hand injury.
TIM TSZYU AIMS TO PROVE ONCE AGAIN HE IS THE MAN TO FACE AT JUNIOR MIDDLEWEIGHT
Many may feel differently when I say this but things haven’t necessarily come easy for Tszyu. Yes, he holds the last name of a boxing legend, but because of it, he had to work that much harder. He climbed the rankings quickly but was still unproven, especially to the purists who felt he was just a name. What added fuel to the fire was when he was knocked down in the first round against Terrell Gausha (23-3-1, 12 KOs) in March 2022. Although he ended up earning a unanimous decision victory, he didn’t look that impressive, and being the mandatory to Charlo at that point, there was the thought that he was not ready for that fight.
Australia has some of the most dangerous animals in the world. You can add @Tim_Tszyu to that list.
— Premier Boxing Champions (@premierboxing) June 13, 2023
Despite an early knockdown, Tszyu showed the ferocity to dominate his opponent in his US debut. Tszyu returns Saturday, June 17, on @ShowtimeBoxing #TszyuOcampo pic.twitter.com/AM9u5k7m7b
Tszyu was next in line for Charlo, and as both fighters started their training camps, Charlo hurt his hand. Tszyu didn’t want to waste the training camp and instead went with facing Tony Harrison (29-4-1, 21 KOs) two months later. The Harrison fight was risky, especially since he once beat Charlo for the WBC title. Tszyu was up for the challenge, and maybe deep down inside, knew he needed to face a quality opponent like Harrison to know where he was with his development. Tszyu dominated Harrison and must do the same to Ocampo to keep the momentum and anticipation for the Charlo fight at an all-time high. Will Tszyu impress in front of the home crowd once again, or will Ocampo add to the upsets of 2023?
CAN CARLOS OCAMPO CAPITALIZE OFF THE OPPORTUNITY OF A LIFETIME ON SATURDAY?
Carlos Ocampo has arrived on the Gold Coast ahead of Sunday’s fight with Tim Tszyu #TszyuOcampo pic.twitter.com/XAMD66NAq5
— Ben Damon (@ben_damon) June 12, 2023
The 27-year-old Ocampo has been a pro for close to eleven years. Still, during that time, he has shared the ring with unified welterweight champion Spence Jr. and junior middleweight contender Sebastian Fundora (20-1-1, 13 KOs). Ocampo has 23 knockouts in his 37 fights as a pro, so he does have the ability to produce a knockout. Although he lost to Fundora by unanimous decision, Ocampo showed he could hang with the best of them and will look to do the same on Saturday night. The problem is that Tszyu is coming into this with all the momentum, and Ocampo cannot slow down that avalanche of punches from Tszyu. Still, Ocampo will try to capitalize off of the lazy defense that Tszyu could display at times to score quite possibly the biggest upset of the year so far.
TIM TSZYU VS. CARLOS OCAMPO PREDICTION
Tszyu is more than ready for the undisputed fight against Charlo, and he will show everyone how ready he is by dominating and stopping Ocampo in the seventh round—Tszyu by seventh-round TKO.
TIM TSZYU VS. CARLOS OCAMPO BETTING ODDS
Per BetOnline.ag, Tim Tszyu is the favorite at -1500, and Carlos Ocampo is the underdog at +800.
Tim Tszyu: Decision +275; TKO/KO -300
Draw: +1600
Carlos Ocampo: Decision +1800; TKO/KO +1200
Round Group Betting
Tszyu, Tim by KO/TKO/DQ in
Round 1 to 3 +850
Tszyu, Tim by KO/TKO/DQ in
Round 4 to 6 +350
Tszyu, Tim by KO/TKO/DQ in
Round 7 to 9 +260
Tszyu, Tim by KO/TKO/DQ in
Round 10 to 12 +350
The first face-off between Tszyu and Ocampo 💪🥊
— MAIN EVENT (@MainEventTV) June 14, 2023
Fight Day can't come soon enough!
Don’t Miss #TszyuOcampo THIS SUNDAY. Order NOW on Main Event: https://t.co/3DtArTADGS pic.twitter.com/NYhnOFFbOU
Ocampo, Carlos by KO/TKO/DQ in
Round 1 to 3 +6600
Ocampo, Carlos by KO/TKO/DQ in
Round 4 to 6 +4000
Ocampo, Carlos by KO/TKO/DQ in
Round 7 to 9 +4000
Ocampo, Carlos by KO/TKO/DQ in
Round 10 to 12 +5000
TIM TSZYU VS. CARLOS OCAMPO FIGHT DATE, START TIME
🥊 #TszyuOcampo
— SHOWTIME Boxing (@ShowtimeBoxing) June 12, 2023
🗓 SATURDAY
🕦 11:30PM ET/8:30PM PT
📺 @showtime pic.twitter.com/Qe6MVQFQr2
- Date: Saturday, June 10
- Time: 11:30 p.m. ET / 8:30 p.m. PT
These timings could change due to the length of the undercard fights.
WHAT CHANNEL/STREAM IS TIM TSZYU VS. CARLOS OCAMPO?
- U.S.: Showtime
- UK: TBA
TIM TSZYU VS. CARLOS OCAMPO FIGHT CARD
- Tim Tszyu vs. Carlos Ocampo, 12 rounds, super welterweight – Tszyu’s WBO Interim super welterweight title
- Ra’eese Aleem vs. Sam Goodman, 12 rounds, super bantamweight – IBF super bantamweight title eliminator
- Justin Frost vs. Hassan Hamdan, 10 rounds, super lightweight – Frost’s Australian super lightweight title
- Hasely Hepi vs. Troy Pilcher, 8 rounds, heavyweight
- Vegas Larfield vs. Jhunrille Castino, 6 rounds, super bantamweight
- Liam Talivaa vs. Isaac Liki, 4 rounds, heavyweight
- Rocky Ogden vs. Mark Schleibs, 6 rounds, 57 kg-catchweight
