FRISCO, Texas -- On June 16 the IBF welterweight world champion Errol Spence Jr. (23-0, 20 KOs) will defend his belt less than an hour away from his hometown of Dallas. The venue should be packed with Spence fans as he makes the second defense of his IBF title. Looking to ruin everyone's night is Carlos Ocampo (22-0, 13 KOs) who will be in his first ever title fight.
At just 28 years old Spence is one of the brightest stars in boxing. The former Olympian captured his first career title in 2017 when he ventured across the pond to challenge Kell Brook, and brought his IBF belt back stateside. That win over Brook is Spence's best to date but he also has impressive victories over Lamont Peterson and Chris Algieri, who hasn't fought since being beat down by Spence in 2016.
Spence is a southpaw with a phenomenal mix of boxing skills and real power. He currently has a knockout streak of 10 in a row and the last time a Spence opponent made it to the final bell was back in 2014. Spence's jab is an excellent weapon and lands with a thud and he will often follow that punch up with a strong straight left hand. Among his other weapons are a quality right hook and his insistence on a sustained body attack. Spence is known as one of the best body punchers in boxing and that body attack allows him to break opponents down early on his way to stopping them later in the fight. With the welterweight division being one of the most loaded in the sport there are a plethora of big fights for Spence in the future but first he will need to handle business against the unbeaten Ocampo.
At just 22 years old, Ocampo is still on the rise and he's never faced anyone even close to the talent level of Spence. This is a massive step-up fight for Ocampo but should he win it would change the course of his career and make him a name all boxing fans know. Two of the bigger names on Ocampo's resume are Jorge Paez Jr. and Johnny Navarrete, neither of whom are comparable to Spence.
Ocampo fights out of the orthodox stance and has a strong jab he works off of. Along with the jab Ocampo has also shown a short left hook that can do damage and a big right hand. At times the Mexican fighter will put his combinations together quickly and find success. However, at others times Ocampo can get a little long with his punches, especially his right hand and if Spence can start timing the long right hand he could do damage with counter punches. As a professional Ocampo has never been knocked down but he does tend to leave his chin out too far and he could pay for the price of that against Spence.
Ocampo has shown himself to be a rugged fighter who doesn't mind letting his hands go. He, like Spence, puts in good work to the body and can find success from the outside or from the pocket. The problem for Ocampo in this fight is that Spence is just better. Spence has more power, faster hands, and better defense. Ocampo will probably be best served trying to make this fight as rough and tough as he can and although that strategy could hasten his demise it might also be his best shot at victory. On Spence's part look for him to work the body early to take the fight out of Ocampo before going for the finish.
PREDICTION: Carlos Ocampo is a good fighter but Errol Spence Jr. is a great fighter. One day Ocampo might be ready to truly compete against guys like Spence but that day won't be June 16. Spence is going to show why he's such a special fighter as he becomes the first man to stop Ocampo, doing so in the eighth round.
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| Spence catching Lamont Peterson with a clean jab |
Spence is a southpaw with a phenomenal mix of boxing skills and real power. He currently has a knockout streak of 10 in a row and the last time a Spence opponent made it to the final bell was back in 2014. Spence's jab is an excellent weapon and lands with a thud and he will often follow that punch up with a strong straight left hand. Among his other weapons are a quality right hook and his insistence on a sustained body attack. Spence is known as one of the best body punchers in boxing and that body attack allows him to break opponents down early on his way to stopping them later in the fight. With the welterweight division being one of the most loaded in the sport there are a plethora of big fights for Spence in the future but first he will need to handle business against the unbeaten Ocampo.
At just 22 years old, Ocampo is still on the rise and he's never faced anyone even close to the talent level of Spence. This is a massive step-up fight for Ocampo but should he win it would change the course of his career and make him a name all boxing fans know. Two of the bigger names on Ocampo's resume are Jorge Paez Jr. and Johnny Navarrete, neither of whom are comparable to Spence.
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| Ocampo doing work with his opponent on the ropes |
Ocampo fights out of the orthodox stance and has a strong jab he works off of. Along with the jab Ocampo has also shown a short left hook that can do damage and a big right hand. At times the Mexican fighter will put his combinations together quickly and find success. However, at others times Ocampo can get a little long with his punches, especially his right hand and if Spence can start timing the long right hand he could do damage with counter punches. As a professional Ocampo has never been knocked down but he does tend to leave his chin out too far and he could pay for the price of that against Spence.
Ocampo has shown himself to be a rugged fighter who doesn't mind letting his hands go. He, like Spence, puts in good work to the body and can find success from the outside or from the pocket. The problem for Ocampo in this fight is that Spence is just better. Spence has more power, faster hands, and better defense. Ocampo will probably be best served trying to make this fight as rough and tough as he can and although that strategy could hasten his demise it might also be his best shot at victory. On Spence's part look for him to work the body early to take the fight out of Ocampo before going for the finish.
PREDICTION: Carlos Ocampo is a good fighter but Errol Spence Jr. is a great fighter. One day Ocampo might be ready to truly compete against guys like Spence but that day won't be June 16. Spence is going to show why he's such a special fighter as he becomes the first man to stop Ocampo, doing so in the eighth round.
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