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| For the first time in his career, Weljon Mindoro ended up on the wrong side of a knockout. Jhay Otamias |
MANILA—Weljon Mindoro suffered the first loss of his professional career Sunday (Manila Time) after Carlos Ocampo stopped the unbeaten Filipino middleweight prospect in the ninth round of their 10-round bout at the USC Galen Center in Los Angeles.
Ocampo ended the fight at 1:59 of the ninth round after a right hand sent Mindoro to the canvas.
Mindoro managed to rise but appeared unable to continue, prompting his corner to stop the bout.
The result ended Mindoro's perfect 17-0 record, which included 16 knockouts.
Ocampo improved to 39-4 with 27 knockouts.
The fight also came with a weight issue.
Mindoro weighed 163.6 pounds at the official weigh-in, within the agreed 164-pound limit, while Ocampo came in at 165 pounds.
Ocampo was fined US$2,000 for missing the limit.
Mindoro had early success but could not maintain control as the fight progressed.
In the third round, Mindoro opened a cut near Ocampo's right eye with a right hand.
The Filipino also appeared to hurt the Mexican with an uppercut in the seventh round.
Ocampo, however, began landing more consistently in the eighth round, connecting with solid punches to Mindoro's head and changing the direction of the fight.
The decisive moment came in the ninth. Ocampo landed a hard right hand to Mindoro's jaw, causing the Filipino's legs to buckle.
Mindoro initially dropped to one knee before going down again while attempting to regain his footing.
He eventually returned to his corner, where his team elected to end the fight.
The Philippine national team member, who won a bronze medal at last year's Southeast Asian Games in Bangkok, had most recently defeated Mexico's Elias Espadas by unanimous decision.
That victory over Espadas had been Mindoro's first professional bout to go the distance.
Ocampo entered the fight with considerable experience against top-level opposition, having previously faced former and current world-class fighters including Errol Spence, Sebastian Fundora, and Tim Tszyu.
He also went the distance with Fundora in their 2022 WBC super welterweight interim title fight.
