Zuffa Boxing 01 predictions: Odds, picks for Callum Walsh vs. Carlos Ocampo

LAS VEGAS — The Zuffa Boxing era begins Friday night with Zuffa Boxing 01, a card featuring a middleweight bout between Callum Walsh and Carlos Ocampo. The event is the first in TKO’s foray into boxing and will be broadcast live on Paramount+ from the Meta Apex in Las Vegas.

Walsh (15-0, 11 KO) is undefeated as a professional and has gradually progressed at the competitive level. In his last outing, Walsh scored the biggest victory of his career, scoring a decision victory over the undefeated Fernando Vargas on Terence Crawford’s undercard against Saul “Canelo” Alvarez last September, co-promoted by Zuffa Boxing.

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Walsh has long been close to UFC President and CEO Dana White, who helped guide Walsh’s career. This made Walsh a no-brainer as Zuffa Boxing’s first high-profile signee.

“You know, I think it makes sense,” Walsh told CBS Sports about being selected for such a prestigious position. “I’ve been around Dana, I’ve been boxing for a while. I’ve proven myself in the ring. I’ve had some wins. I just had a big win in my last fight, and just being around Dana for so long, you know, pushing him to get involved in boxing. I’ve proven that I’ll fight anybody and that I really bring the same mindset that the UFC does to boxing. So, I think it’s just I have the right to be the first main eventer and have the opportunity to prove myself and prove to everyone that this is really who I am.”

White, when asked about the event and Walsh’s promotion, made sure to note that he was there for all the fighters, not just Walsh.

“Every time I do something, I build an amazing team around me. That’s what the boxing matchmakers came up with,” White told CBS Sports on Wednesday. “We think it’s a strong card. Obviously, Callum is a kid that I’ve supported for a long time. People thought I was his manager… I never made a dollar with Callum. I just loved him from the moment I met him and supported him, and here we are today. Just because I had a relationship with this kid and he’s in this position… I don’t determine who wins the fights.”

In Ocampo (38-3, 26 KOs), Walsh faces a fighter with several high-profile fights, even if he has come up short in all of his biggest outings.

Ocampo fought for the IBF welterweight title in 2018, losing by first-round stoppage. He then fought twice for the interim junior middleweight titles, losing by decision to Sebastian Fundora and by first-round knockout to Tim Tszyu in 2022 and 2023, respectively.

Aside from those times when Ocampo has faced fighters who are among the best in the game, he has been perfect and frequently takes on his opposition. Since the loss to Tszyu, Ocampo has won three straight by stoppage, albeit against opposition well below Walsh’s level.

Walsh nevertheless believes that Ocampo’s experience makes him a dangerous opponent.

“I’m expecting an intense fight, you know,” Walsh said. “I’m expecting a real fight. You know, he’s a real opponent. It’s a real test for me to prove myself. He’s been up there with big names. He’s got a lot of experience, and if I can beat him, if I can get him out of there, then I’ll prove that I’m up there with the best of him.”

Friday’s main card also features a middleweight bout between undefeated fighters Misael Rodriguez and Austin Deanda and opens with a junior welterweight bout between Cain Sandoval and Julian Rodriguez.

Sandoval vs. Rodriguez stands out as a great kickoff to Zuffa Boxing’s first main card. The undefeated Sandoval has a big opportunity, but has shown great knockout power throughout his career. Rodriguez is coming off a 10th-round knockout over Avious Griffin, the promotions’ highly touted top prospect, on the undercard of Jake Paul’s fight with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.

Elsewhere on the card, Omar Trinidad faces Max Ornelas at featherweight, Floyd Diaz returns to face Guillermo Gutierrez at bantamweight and Emiliano Cardenas faces Marcus Harris also at bantamweight.

Let’s take a closer look at the rest of the card scheduled for Friday with the latest odds before moving on to a prediction and expert pick on the main event below.

Zuffa Boxing 01 fight card, odds

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

• Callum Walsh -700 vs. Carlos Ocampo +450, middleweight
• Misael Rodriguez -700 vs. Austin Deanda +450, Middleweight
• Cain Sandoval -230 vs. Julian Rodriguez +180, junior welterweight
• Omar Trinidad -265 vs. Max Ornelas +205, featherweight
• Floyd Diaz -1100 vs. Guillermo Gutierrez +600, bantamweight
• Emiliano Cardenas -1100 vs. Marcus Harris +600, bantamweight
• Robert Meriwether III -3000 vs. Cesar Correa +1000, junior lightweight
• Troy Nash -1600 vs. Jaycob Ramos +750, featherweight

Predictions

Ocampo is an excellent fighter, but he is someone who has built a career in which he is seen as an opponent more than a contender. That said, Ocampo takes the fight to his opponents and Walsh has the opportunity to deliver a result that will be directly compared to Ocampo’s results against Spence, Fundora and Tszyu.

Ocampo leaves himself open for punches and Walsh has a good pop. There’s an interesting angle here, which is that Walsh is moving up from fighting junior middleweight (154 pounds) to middleweight (160) for this fight. Sometimes fighters notice a drop in their punching power as they increase in weight; other times, they have more power because they are not affected by additional weight loss.

Expect Walsh to find the save in this one, but how quickly he gets there and the way he appears to do it will be intriguing things to watch. Pick: Callum Walsh via TKO3