Carlos Ocampo Outworks Jorge Paez Jr. To Win

By Cliff Rold

For the second fight in a row, the son of colorful former champion Jorge Paez was matched with a young, undefeated prospect. It didn’t go as planned for the scion. Carlos Ocampo (17-0, 11 KO), 147, of Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico, outworked and outhustled 27-year old Jorge Paez Jr. (39-7-2, 23 KO), 148 ¼, of Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico, for a ten-round unanimous decision on Saturday night at the Arena Tequisquiapan in Queretaro, Mexico.

The action was sustained and exciting into the second, both men digging to the body at close quarters. The taller, longer Ocampo was finding the target, working between the shots of Paez. In the third, the tenor remained the same but it was Ocampo more often moving Paez backwards.

The trend of the fight continued in the fourth and fifth, Ocampo attacking and landing more. Round six saw Ocampo working the ring, Paez following him and walking into shots. The younger man appeared in commanding control.

The seventh started with an aggressive Paez putting the fight back at close quarters. Ocampo handled the fire and matched it with his own. As the round wore on, it was again Ocampo seizing control, winning exchanges and peppering Paez. Paez again charged at the bell for the eighth. Again Ocampo met him in the trenches and resumed control of the action as the round wore on.

Both men were still winging by the final round. There wasn’t a ton of steam on their shots in the tenth and Paez was warned for a late round rabbit punch that brought a brief break to the action. The night ended with Paez swinging for the fences and falling short of the home run he appeared to need.

The judges agreed at scores of 97-92, 99-91 and a shutout 100-90.

In the televised opener, lightweight Uriel Perez (7-1, 6 KO) of Queretaro, Mexico, scored two knockdowns en route to a fifth round stoppage of Miguel Angel Bautista (5-3-2, 0 KO) of San Juan Zitlaltepec, Mexico. The referee was Juan Jose Moreno.

Perez controlled the action from the outset with Bautista switching between circling away and occasional pressure. Perez dropped him in the fourth and finished matters in the fifth with a blistering right. Bautista beat the count but was waved off, deemed unfit to continue. The official time of the stoppage was not announced.

Cliff Rold is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene and a member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board and the Boxing Writers Association of America.  He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com