Shakhram Giyasov vs Franco Ocampo Predictions: Life on the cusp of the world title

Olympic silver medalist Shakhram Giyasov takes on Argentine combatant Franco Ocampo this Saturday, April 12 live on DAZN. The bout takes place on the undercard of the welterweight title unification scrap between Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis and Eimantas Stanionis. The legendary Boardwalk Hall in New Jersey will host this hot card.

Here are my Giyasov vs Ocampo predictions ahead of this welterweight clash.

Shakhram Giyasov vs  Franco Ocampo Odds

Giyasov is seen as a heavy favourite at 1/33 while Ocampo is way out at 10/1. A draw between these unevenly matched welterweights is 20/1.

Shakhram Giyasov vs  Franco Ocampo Fight Preview

Giyasov is walking that classic path from amateur to pro. He copped silver at Rio 2016 as well before winning the World Amateur Championship a year later. This has been followed by a flawless 16-0 start in the professional ranks.

At the age of 31, now is the time for Giyasov to put his foot on the accelerator. ‘Wonder Boy’ is the WBA’s number-one welterweight contender while he is also ranked seventh by the WBC. The former designation should put him on a collision course with the winner of the main event.

IBF kingpin ‘Boots’ Ennis and WBA boss Stanionis will unify their respective straps in the evening’s headliner. Unified belts always present a quandary, with two sets of sanctioning bodies offering up their own challengers. Lewis Crocker is the IBF mandatory, but he has a date in the diary for a rematch with Paddy Donovan. That could open the door for Giyasov to take on the Ennis-Stanionis winner first.

Giyasov cannot afford to look past this fight, of course. But it is important to outline what is at stake here for the Olympian. The road to further opportunities passes through Saturday night. This is a fighter on the cusp of the championship.

Ocampo will have something to say about that. This fight is unfamiliar territory, both literally and figuratively, for ‘Cazador’. This bout is Ocampo’s first outside of his native Argentina. It is also the highest quality opponent he has faced in a 19 fight career (17-2).

Ocampo goes into a 10-round fight for just the second time in his career. The first won’t be much help, with Ocampo having knocked out Leonardo Amitrano in three rounds of the scheduled 10. Giyasov is unlikely to fall as fast.

The issue Ocampo faces is the completeness of Giyasov’s game. Like a lot of highly-schooled amateurs, there just isn’t many gaps in his skill-set. Giyasov works well off the back and front-foots, alternates attacks to head and body and can dig. A hard opponent to plan for and an even harder one to beat.

The main pressure for Giyasov will be internal. He is the mandatory challenger for the WBA championship. The 31-year-old cannot let anything go wrong at the weekend. If he does hesitate, Ocampo could ruin the best-laid plans.

Shakhram Giyasov vs  Franco Ocampo Full Card

Jaron Ennis vs. Eimantas Stanionis

Raymond Ford vs. Thomas Mattice

Omari Jones vs. William Jackson

Arturo Popoca vs. Christian Carto

Shakhram Giyasov vs. Franco Maximiliano Ocampo

Shakhram Giyasov vs  Franco Ocampo Prediction

Giyasov does everything a bit better than his opponent here. I don’t think Ocampo can find the gaps in his game, never mind exploiting them. 

Giyasov has the weapons in his arsenal to stop the Argentine. You can back that result at 8/13.

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