Tim Tszyu’s unified world title remains intact after the son of a gun retained his WBO interim super-welterweight title with a spectacular victory over Mexican Carlos Ocampo.
Risking it all, Tszyu produced an extraordinary display of firepower to successfully defend the belt he claimed in March with a savage ninth-round stoppage of American Tony Harrison in Sydney.
A self-confessed “obsessed” Tszyu knocked Ocampo out in barely a minute in a ferocious performance at the Gold Coast Convention Centre to send a chilling warning to undisputed world champion Jermell Charlo.
In 77 seconds of mayhem, Tszyu first knocked down Ocampo with a big right before finishing the Central American with a brutal left hook that left the vanquished in tears.
Tszyu was last month ordered to fight Charlo before October 1 for the WBA, WBC, WBO and IBF belts after the pair’s scheduled January 29 showdown was postponed last Christmas when the American broke two bones in his right hand.
That blockbuster bout would have been canned had Tszyu lost to Ocampo, 22 days after needing emergency surgery for a nasty dog-bite wound to his right forearm.
Typically, though, Tszyu once again rose to occasion to confirm his date with destiny with Charlo with the most astonishing performance of his career, extending his undefeated record to 23 wins from 23 fights with a 17th KO.
-AAP
