Tim Tszyu rolling the dice on his boxing career and Jermell Charlo by taking

AS FIGHT FANS began filing out of Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena in mid-March this year, having just witnessed Tim Tszyu overwhelm the highly credentialed Tony Harrison and tick off yet another item on his burgeoning boxing bucket list, the newly-crowned WBO interim junior middleweight champion was sat in the bowels of the stadium methodically plotting his next move.

It would surprise nobody that a date with division superstar Jermell Charlo (35-1-1, 19 KOs) — who unified all four junior middleweight titles with a 10th-round knockout of Brian Castano last May — remained at the top of his wish list. The pair had agreed to fight for Charlo’s quartet of straps at 154-pounds in Las Vegas earlier in the year, however it was indefinitely postponed after the American broke his left hand in two places during a sparring session at the back end of his training camp. It was a roadblock for Tszyu (22-0, 16 KOs) which ultimately opened the door to fight Harrison — the only man to have beaten Charlo.

With Charlo continuing his rehabilitation, the likelihood of rescheduling their fight anytime soon appeared slim. Frustrating? Sure, but that shouldn’t have mattered for Tszyu, whose meteoric rise from unproven son-of-a-gun to the division’s mandatory challenger had earned him the right to essentially kick his feet up and wait for what could be a potentially life-changing, legacy-shaping fight.

But that’s just not the way he’s wired.

“I’m a fighter. I always want to fight,” Tszyu told ESPN earlier in the year. “I’m not going to wait around for anybody. I like to stay fit and ready. [Not being able to fight Charlo immediately], it’s annoying, but I can only focus on myself and what I’m doing in my career. Nothing else.”

Weeks later Tszyu doubled down, claiming: “I could have gone the easy path, I guess, and said ‘you know what, I’m going to take a little bit of time off and rest’, but that’s not me. I’m motivated. I feel possessed in a certain way where I just need to unleash.”

It was that no-rest, fight-first mentality that ultimately saw Tszyu roll the dice on his future and agree to a bout with Carlos Ocampo (35-2, 23 KOs). The experienced Mexican has world championship pedigree. A fighter who has been battle tested by some of the most highly respected in the sport. A fighter who is fully capable of causing an historic upset and halting Tszyu’s quest to become the undisputed champion of the junior middleweight class.

Like Tszyu, Ocampo established an undefeated record through 22 fights. It was his 23rd, against Errol Spence Jr. in mid-2018, when he suffered his first loss by…