A CRUSHING right sent Filipino middleweight Weljon Mindoro reeling to his first loss as a professional as Carlos Ocampo hammered out a 9th-round TKO in their 10-round bout at the USC Galen Center in Los Angeles, California on Sunday (Manila time).
Mindoro’s legs wobbled the moment Ocampo landed that solid right to the jaw, initially putting him down on one knee before totally going down after struggling to get up on his feet.
Visibly dazed, Mindoro managed to stand up and walked over to his corner, which thought the Filipino fighter had enough so decided to throw in the towel, prompting referee Ray Corona stopped the fight.
The end came at the 1:59 mark of the ninth round.
Ocampo’s win came with the caveat of a $2,000 fine after failing to make weight of 164lbs during the official weigh-in on Saturday (Manila time).
Mindoro came in at 163.6lbs. while his Mexican foe tipped in at 165lbs.
Mindoro's first career loss
It was the first career loss for the Philippine boxing team member who won a bronze medal in last year’s Southeast Asian Games in Bangkok.
The Filipino entered the fight carrying a fearsome 17-0 record including 16 by KO. His previous fight against Mexican Elias Espadas marked the first time he went the distance in a unanimous decision win at the Texas Arlington College Park Center.
Mindoro had his moment in the third round when a right hand opened a cut near Ocampo’ right eye, and then appeared to hurt the Mexican with an uppercut in the seventh round.
But a savvy veteran, Ocampo, 30, gamely fought on and repeatedly landed solid blows to Mindoro’s head in the eighth round in what turned out to be the beginning of the end for the Filipino.
Ocampo was no pushover, having faced the likes of world champions Errol Spence, Sebastian Fundora, and Tim Tszyu in the past. He was the last fighter to go the distance against the 6-foot-5 Fundora in their WBC super welterweight interim title fight in 2022.
The Mexican improved his record to 39-4-0 including 27 KOs.
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