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Andreas Hale
LAS VEGAS — Undefeated Callum Walsh earned a unanimous decision over Carlos Ocampo in the main event of Zuffa Boxing’s inaugural event at the newly renovated Meta Apex on Friday night.
Walsh (16-0, 11 KOs) initiated and finished exchanges with Ocampo while breaking through repeatedly with a lunging left hand. The judges scored the bout 98-90, 98-90 and 97-91.
“I rise to the occasion,” Walsh said. “I take every opportunity given to me, and yeah, a hundred percent the better opponent will bring a better Callum Walsh. I’m up for anything.”
Walsh and Ocampo didn’t throw many jabs as they took turns lunging forward with power punches. Walsh landed the cleaner punches while Ocampo failed to counter when he appeared to have openings, allowing his opponent to run away with the fight.
Walsh was comfortably ahead, but the referee ruled he was knocked down during a questionable call in the sixth round. A blow to Walsh’s shoulder knocked him off balance and caused his glove to touch the canvas. Ocampo was docked for a questionable low blow in the ninth round.
Fighting out of Ensenada, Mexico, Ocampo (38-4, 26 KOs) had fallen short whenever he took a step up in competition, losing to Tim Tszyu, Sebastian Fundora and Errol Spence Jr. Since losing to Tszyu in 2023, Ocampo had notched three consecutive knockout wins, albeit against lesser opposition in Mexico, before fighting Walsh.
Walsh, 24, has been lauded by Dana White for several years, with many of Walsh’s fights featured on UFC Fight Pass before he formally signed with Zuffa Boxing. Walsh was coming off a unanimous decision over Fernando Vargas Jr. in the co-main event of the Terence Crawford vs. Canelo Alvarez card in September and felt good about his performance against Ocampo.
“I feel like I’ve improved since the last fight,” Walsh said. “Cardio-wise, I felt a lot better. I’m never happy with the performance unless I knock him out. I feel like getting the 10 rounds is good. The opponents are getting tougher and tougher. [Ocampo has] been in there with the best of them. It was a good experience. It was a good night all round. I’m happy to get the win.”
The clash of middleweights headlined White’s highly anticipated entry into the world of boxing. After teasing the launch of a boxing promotion nearly a decade ago, it finally came to fruition last year when White announced that the UFC’s parent company, TKO Group Holdings, would enter the boxing industry under the name Zuffa Boxing in partnership with Sela Sport and with the backing of Turki Alalshikh, chairman of the General Entertainment Authority of Saudi Arabia.
The event was held the night before UFC 324, which will take place a few miles from the Meta Apex at T-Mobile Arena. UFC fighters, boxers and WWE superstars attended Zuffa Boxing’s debut.