By Craig Daly: Tim Tszyu says he thinks Carlos Ocampo will be one of the “harder” fights technically than any of his previous contests when he defends his WBO interim junior middleweight title against him on June 18th at the Gold Coast Convention Centre, Broadbeach, in Queensland, Australia.
(Photo credit: No Limit Boxing)
Tszyu (22-0, 16 KOs) faces the powerful knockout artist Ocampo (34-2, 22 KOs) to keep sharp for his title fight against four-belt 154-lb champion Jermell Charlo later this year.
Charlo (35-1-1, 19 KOs) is still in the healing stages of recovery after recently breaking his left hand in two places while training for his title defense against Tszyu.
Tim has already had one warm-up fight last March, stopping former WBC junior middleweight champion Tony Harrison in the ninth round. Now he’ll take another one against the 27-year-old Ocampo.
The Ocampo fight could prove more difficult for Tszyu, as he’s younger than his previous opponent Harrison and hasn’t tasted the big money that he has during his career.
“I’m a fighter. My job is to fight. I won’t sit on the couch and wait for [Jermell] Charlo’s hand to get better. I want to fight in the meantime,” said Tim Tszyu on Tuesday to the media about his announcement for his title defense against Carlos Ocampo on June 18th.
“The fans deserve the fights. I remember, as a kid, waiting for the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight, and then when it finally got announced, even though it was five years late, it was like, ‘Wow, it was all that I ever wanted.’
“It’s all about the best fighting the best. That’s what we’re in for. That’s what makes boxing different from other sports. When I was given the opportunity to fight Ocampo, it was like, ‘Wow!’ It brought back Mexican rivalries and that style of fight.
“Technically, this fight is going to be a much harder fight than my previous fights. You get tired in these types of fights. This guy is levels above [Takeshi] Inoue. You just punch and punch and punch them, and they’re just there. That’s always a hard task,” said Tszyu.
“I do,” said Tszyu when asked if he believes he’ll fight Jermell Charlo at the end of the year. “We’re actually penciling in a date. It’s in the making. Nothing is penciled in yet, but it’s in the making. I’m not underestimating Ocampo. I’ve got a hard task ahead of me.
“We’re going to finish up here [Queensland]. My camps going to be in Sydney, but yeah, finish up here,” said Tszyu.
