By Mark Eisner: WBO interim junior middleweight champion Tim Tszyu (23-0, 17 KOs) made a strong statement in knocking out the normally durable Carlos Ocampo (34-3, 22 KOs) in the first round on Sunday at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre in Broadbeach, Queensland, Australia.
The hard-hitting 28-year-old Tszyu came out of the blocks fast in the first round, nailing Ocampo with a powerful right hand to the head that shook him to his boots.
Moments later, Tszyu knocked Ocampo down with a hard right hand. When the 27-year-old Ocampo got up, Tszyu finished him off by dropping him with a left hook to the head. Referee Danrex Tapdasan then stopped the contest. The time of the stoppage was at 1:17 of round one.
“I got a question for everyone here. What’s my name?” said Tszyu to FOX Sports after the fight. “I think that was a statement made. I think Errol did it in two and a half minutes just near the three-minute mark. I think I got him out there a bit earlier. So I beat you, Errol. I beat you to it.
“There’s no battle with America. That’s the land I want to conquer. The land I’m going to next. The big one is coming up. That’s where I’m going. That’s where I’m headed. I’ve got this interim belt, but I’m not satisfied. I want all four. It’s not just the belts. I literally want the name Charlo on my resume,” said Tszyu.
With the win, Tszyu sent a strong message to undisputed junior middleweight champion Jermell Charlo that he was coming for him. Charlo has been slow in healing from a broken hand that he suffered late last year.
In the co-feature bout, unbeaten Sam Goodman (15-0, 7 KOss) edged Ra’eese Aleem (20-1, 12 KOs), beating him by a twelve round split decision in an IBF super bantamweight title eliminator.
The scores were:
- 117-111 – Goodman
- 116-112 – Goodman
- 116-112 – Aleem
In the first half of the contest, Aleem fought well, getting the better of Goodman. However, at the midpoint of the contest, Goodman took over and battered the older Aleem.