Tim Tszyu got rid of Carlos Ocampo even faster than Errol Spence Jr. stopped him five years ago.
Tszyu dropped the Mexican contender twice and beat him by first-round knockout in their 12-round, 154-pound title fight Sunday afternoon at Gold Coast Convention & Exhibition Centre in Broadbeach, Australia. Tszyu defended the WBO interim junior middleweight title he won when he beat Tony Harrison by ninth-round TKO three months ago in Sydney.
The Sydney native also maintained his position as the WBO’s mandatory challenger for undisputed 154-pound champion Jermell Charlo. Tszyu (23-0, 17 KOs) expects that his fight against Charlo (35-1-1, 19 KOs) will be rescheduled for later this year, perhaps as early as an undetermined date in October.
Mexico’s Ocampo (35-3, 23 KOs) lost in the first round for the second time in his career. Spence (28-0, 22 KOs) stopped him in the first round of their fight for Spence’s IBF welterweight title in June 2018 at the Dallas Cowboys’ practice facility, Ford Center at The Star, in Frisco Texas.
Tszyu, 28, beat Ocampo just three weeks after a dog bit him on his right arm. The gash required surgery and 26 stitches to close the wound, but Tszyu returned to training just two days later.
Tszyu blasted Ocampo with a left-right combination barely 20 seconds into their fight and attacked the stunned challenger. Tszyu continued to crush Ocampo with power punches until he drilled Ocampo with a right hand that sent him to one knee exactly a minute into the first round.
Ocampo couldn’t recover.
Tszyu blasted Ocampo with a left hook that knocked him down again with 1:35 to go in the first round. The bout was immediately stopped thereafter.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.