Notebook: Tszyu once bitten but not shy about facing Ocampo
Ennis-Villa Showtime card, site set; cruiserweight champion Opetaia ordered to face Riakporhe; BetUS show; Quick hits; Show and tell
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Despite a suffering a nasty gash in his right forearm near his elbow as a result of being bitten by a dog and needing surgery and 26 stitches just three weeks ago, Tim Tszyu is set to fight — but he also knows how lucky he is that the incident was not far more serious.
“I dodged a bullet,” Tszyu said this week. “It was close to the muscle, the tendon and the arteries, which would have been not just blood loss, but end-of-career-type stuff. So, I'm blessed.”
Tszyu was at a social gathering unwinding during his training camp when the dog bit him, but days later he was back to training despite having stitches for the next week.
Whatever the true condition of his arm is, Tszyu will defend the WBO interim junior middleweight title for the first time against Carlos Ocampo on Saturday (Showtime, 11:30 p.m. ET) at Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre in Broadbeach, Australia, where it will be Sunday afternoon.
Tszyu (22-0, 16 KOs), 28, who is Australia’s most popular active fighter, was supposed to challenge undisputed champion Jermell Charlo on Jan. 28 in Las Vegas but Charlo fractured his left hand in two places during training, forcing him to postpone the fight.
That paved the way for Tszyu to knock out former titlist Tony Harrison in the ninth round to win the vacant interim belt on March 12 in Sydney with the hope that Charlo would be next. But he is still not ready, so Tszyu will once again risk his mandatory status against Ocampo (34-2, 22 KOs), 27, of Mexico.
The WBO has mandated that Charlo face Tszyu no later than Sept. 30, so he could have simply waited a few months for the fight and if Charlo was not available he would be stripped and Tszyu elevated to the full WBO titleholder.
It seemed like that might be the move after he was bitten by the dog, but Tszyu was determined to go to through with the fight against Ocampo.
“There is no tougher fighter on the planet than Tim,” said Glen Jennings, Tszyu’s manager. “Most other fighters would have said, ‘I’m out,’ but not this kid. I said, ‘are you comfortable mentally, because physically it will heal.’ He said, ‘no way, I’m not pulling out.’ I do quietly smile from time to time because Tim’s toughness is a DNA streak he inherited from his dad.”
His father, of course, is the Hall of Fame former undisputed junior welterweight champion Kostya Tszyu.
“A severed tendon would have been a totally different ball game,” Jennings said. “Tendons are a minimum 12 months out of boxing and who knows what that could have meant for his career. If the dog pulled him forward, it could have severed the tendon and then he would have been fucked. This was no small mark. There was serious damage to his arm and the images are proof of how deep the cut was. His skin was torn apart by the dog digging into his arm.”
Tszyu has had Charlo on his mind for ages, but he plowed through Harrison while risking his mandatory status and he said he is now focused Charlo down the road but on Ocampo right now.
“Charlo is the No. 1 priority. That's the name that I want on my resume,” Tszyu said. “As you play in video games, there's a big boss and you've got to get rid of all these little bosses on the way to the big boss. Ocampo is next, but Charlo is the big boss I've got my eyes on. I believe in myself. I believe in what I go through and I think the opportunity will come.”
Ocampo, who is coming off a lopsided decision loss challenging then-WBC interim titlist Sebastian Fundora in October and suffered his only other defeat via first-round knockout challenging Errol Spence Jr. for his welterweight title in 2018, didn’t hesitate to accept the unexpected chance to face Tszyu.
“I took the fight against Tim Tszyu because he represents an important challenge in my career,” Ocampo said. “He is the one who holds the (interim) title and he will understand what it is to meet a Mexican.
“I will beat Tim Tszyu, make no mistake. This has been the best preparation of my career. The sparring was better than that of many world champions and my work won’t be in vain even though I have to go to the other side of the world. I have extra space in my suitcase to take his title back to Mexico.”
In the co-feature, Sam Goodman (14-0, 7 KOs), 24, of Australia, and Ra’eese Aleem (20-0, 12 KOs), 32, of Las Vegas, will meet in an IBF junior featherweight eliminator for the right to become a mandatory challenger for IBF/WBA titlist Marlon Tapales.
Ennis-Villa site set
IBF interim welterweight titlist Jaron “Boots” Ennis’ defense against Roiman Villa on July 8 (Showtime, 9:30 p.m. ET) in the main event of a tripleheader will take place at the Adrian Phillips Theater at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, Showtime and Premier Boxing Champions announced on Friday.
The card was initially ticketed for the Borgata in Atlantic City, which is a short drive from Ennis’ hometown of Philadelphia, but it was moved to the 3,000-seat theater at Boardwalk Hall due to issues related to when Showtime could load its equipment into the Borgata.
“I know Villa is a straightforward fighter and that’s tailor-made for me,” Ennis said. “I’m going to win because I’ve been putting in the work, day in and day out. All my hard work will show on fight night. I’m ready to shine and make a big statement.”
Ennis (30-0, 27 KOs), 25, won the vacant interim 147-pound belt via shutout decision over Karen Chukhadzhian on Jan. 7 on the Gervonta Davis-Hector Luis Garcia Showtime PPV card in Washington, D.C., and will be making his first defense.
Also on that Jan. 7 undercard, Villa (26-1, 24 KOs), 30, of Venezuela, notched his most significant victory in a majority 12-round decision over Rashidi Ellis. The win was Villa’s seventh in a row and earned him the opportunity.
“I’m very thankful to my team for this life-changing opportunity,” Villa said. “Rashidi Ellis underestimated me before our last fight, so I knew I was going to win and go on to face Ennis. In order to be the best, you have to fight the best fighters. On July 8, I’m going to score another upset and ruin another undefeated record.”
Middleweight Yoelvis Gomez (6-0, 5 KOs), 24, a Cuban southpaw, who is trains by newly inducted Hall of Famer Joe Goossen in Los Angeles, will face Houston’s Marquis Taylor (14-1-2, 1 KO), 29, in the 10-round co-feature.
“I feel like a hungry lion and I’m ready to eat,” Gomez said. “My plan is to get the knockout and prove why I am the new boogeyman in the division. Taylor is going down and the fans are going to see me at my best.”
Said Taylor: “Yoelvis Gomez is a young, strong fighter and he’s aggressive with a lot of power. A win should put me in a position to compete for a world title. Everyone is gonna see that I’m a big contender when I win.”
Lightweight Edwin De Los Santos (15-1, 14 KOs), 23, a Dominican southpaw, will face Joseph Adorno (17-2-2, 14 KOs), 24, of Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the 10-round opener.
De Los Santos is coming off an impressive third-round knockout of then-unbeaten Jose Valenzuela in September on the Andy Ruiz Jr.-Luis Ortiz undercard. Adorno is coming off a 10-round majority decision loss to Elvis Rodriguez on Showtime in February.
BetUS Boxing Show
If you missed the BetUS Boxing Show live at 1 p.m. ET on Friday on YouTube, please check out the replay (and also subscribe to the YouTube channel). We previewed and handicapped two notable fights that take place on Saturday: Regis Prograis’ junior welterweight title defense against Danielito Zorrilla and Tim Tszyu’s interim junior middleweight defense against Carlos Ocampo. We also took viewer questions and comments and discussed the latest boxing news! Please check out the show here:
New Opetaia order
IBF cruiserweight titlist Jai Opetaia (22-0, 17 KOs), 27, an Australian southpaw, and British contender Richard Riakporhe (16-0, 12 KOs), 33, were ordered this week to meet next.
They have 30 days to make a deal for the mandatory fight of there will be a purse bid scheduled.
Riakporhe was the next available contender and was given the position when Poland’s Mateusz Masternak (47-5, 31 KOs), 36, pulled out of Thursday’s scheduled purse bid the previous day with his team telling the IBF he was “going in a different direction.”
Opetaia did not take kindly to Masternak’s withdrawal, posting to twitter, “What a waste of time,” he wrote. “He used to be a good fighter, now he’s a has-been. I would’ve retired him. If you don’t want the smoke, why waste the last few months talking shit?”
Riakporhe handed current WBO titlist Chris Billam-Smith his only loss via 10-round split decision in 2019.
Quick hits
Weights from New Orleans for the Matchroom Boxing card on Saturday (DAZN): Regis Prograis 139 pounds, Danielito Zorrilla 139 (for Prograis’ WBC junior welterweight title); Shakhram Giyasov 146.1, Harold Calderon 146.2 (WBA welterweight eliminator); Ramla Ali 122, Julissa Guzman 121.1; Jeremy Hill 135.6, Mark Davis 135.6; Ginny Fuchs 113.4, Indeya Rodriguez 113.2; Aaron Aponte 140, Xavier Madrid 138.5; Criztec Bazaldua 136.4, Elroy Fruto 135.6.
Weights from Broadbeach, Australia for Saturday’s No Limit Boxing card on Showtime: Tim Tszyu 153.2 pounds, Carlos Ocampo 153.75 (for Tszyu’s WBO interim junior middleweight title); Sam Goodman 121.8, Ra’eese Aleem 121.7 (IBF junior featherweight eliminator); Justin Frost 139.3, Hassan Hamdan 139.8; Rocky Ogden 125.2, Mark Schleibs 122.9; Vegas Larfield 121.5, Jhunrille Castino 120.8; Hasely Hepi 287.7, Troy Pilcher 240.1; Liam Talivaa 229.9, Isaac Liki 259.7.
Heavyweight Frazer Clarke (7-0, 5 KOs), 31, a 2020 British Olympic bronze medalist, notched his most notable win in cruising to a 100-90 shut out of former title challenger Mariusz Wach (37-10, 20 KOs), 43, of Poland, in the main event of the Boxxer card on Friday at York Hall in London. The fight was the first scheduled 10-rounder for Clarke, whose bout was moved into the main event position on short notice when original headliner Adam Azim had to withdraw from his junior welterweight bout with Aram Fanyan due to an infection caused by cuts on his knuckles. “I started off well but I think I faded,” Clarke said. “There’s a lot of things I did right and a lot of things I did wrong. I smothered my work, and when Mariusz Wach ties you up, it’s very hard to break out.”
WBC strawweight titlist Panya Pradabsri will defend the title against Norihito Tanaka in an immediate rematch on June 28 in Rayong, Thailand, Pradabsri’s home country, Misako Boxing announced. Pradabsri (39-1, 23 KOs), 32, who will be making his fourth defense since winning the 105-pound belt in 2020, won a unanimous decision against Tanaka (20-9, 10 KOs), 38, of Japan, last August. The fight will be Tanaka’s third shot at a world title, having also lost challenging for the WBA belt in 2020. The WBC has mandated that the winner will have to next face interim titlist Yudai Shigeoka.
Wasserman Boxing announced junior featherweight Lee McGregor (12-0-1, 9 KOs), 26, the former British, Commonwealth and European bantamweight champion, who recently signed with the company, will face Mexican southpaw Erik Robles (13-1, 9 KOs), 23, in the 12-round main event on July 21 (Channel 5 in U.K.) at Meadowbank Sports Centre in McGregor’s hometown of Edinburgh, Scotland. McGregor has not fought at home since his 2017 pro debut. Robles will fight outside of Mexico for the first time.
Show and tell
Roberto Duran is one the greatest fighters to ever lace on gloves and one of the “Four Kings” who dominated the 1980s along with Sugar Ray Leonard, Marvin Hagler and Thomas Hearns. Many consider “The Hands of Stone” the greatest lightweight of all time but he went on to win world titles at welterweight (in an upset of then-undefeated Leonard to kick off the “Four Kings” era), junior middleweight and middleweight during a career that spanned 1970 to 2001 and saw him finish with a record of 103-16 with 70 knockouts. I have had the chance to meet Duran many times through the years and hang out with him as well. I once spent the afternoon with him at a Manhattan hotel bar listening to him reflect on his career and current-day boxing, but that’s a story for another day. He’s a wonderful guy — generous with his time, playful and a joy to be around. He’s nothing like the menacing figure from his fighting days, when he looked like the meanest boxer who ever lived.
On Friday, Duran turned 72. So Happy Birthday to the living legend, who I absolutely adore. Here is his rookie from the 1973 Panini multi-sport sticker set from Italy in my collection. PSA has graded only 36 examples of the sticker with mine being one of six at the 9 level. There are also only three at the 10 level. Also, here is a photo of us hanging out while waiting to enter AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, in March 2019 for the fight-week news conference for Errol Spence Jr.’s welterweight title defense against Mikey Garcia that I was there to cover and Duran was there because he had been hired by PBC assist with the promotion.
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Photos: Tszyu-Ocampo, Tszyu’s arm: Matt Roberts/No Limit Boxing; Prograis-Zorrilla: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom Boxing
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The reason I became a fan of The Sweet Science....ROBERTO DURAN!!
Duran one of the greatest fighters of all time I first saw him live on tv when he fought a Australian hec Thompson defending his lightweight title in 1973