Konstantin Ponomarev vs. Carlos Ocampo IBF eliminator off

Boxingnews24.com

By Jim Dower: Unbeaten #4 IBF welterweight contender Konstantin Ponomarev (32-0, 13 KOs) has reportedly pulled out of his IBF 147 lb. eliminator bout for this Saturday on November 11 against undefeated #3 IBF Carlos Ocampo (21-0, 12 KOs).

There’s still no word why the 25-year-old Russian Ponomarev chose not to take the fight with Ocampo. Ponomarev is said to be uninjured, so it’s still a mystery why he pulled out of the fight. Ponomarev lives in Big Bear, California.

The winner of the Ponomarev-Ocampo fight would have been the mandatory challenger for IBF welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. Ocampo vs. Ponomarev was viewed by some in the boxing world to be have been a 50-50 fight. But the winner of the match would have had a tough time against Spence, as neither is viewed as big punchers. Spence is as super talent and looking hard to beat right now.

Ponomarev vs. Ocampo was going to be televised on beIN Sports Espanol. It’s possible that Ocampo could still fight this Saturday night on the card, albeit in a regular non-title eliminator fight. It would be too difficult to find the next available contender in the International Boxing Federation’s rankings to agree to take the fight with Ocampo in an IBF 147 lb. eliminator on just 4-days’ notice. The next highest rated available contender is #6 Luis Collazo.

“I can confirm that he will not be participating in the elimination bout this Saturday. So be it. Famous three words: Life goes on,” said Top Rank vice president Carl Moretti to ESPN.com.

There’s still no word whether Ponomarev will lose out on taking place in another IBF eliminator in the future.

Ponomarev has looked good recently in beating Ed Paredes, Silvario Ortiz and Brad Solomon in his last 3 fights. Ponomarev also has victories over the tough Mikael Zewski and Steve Clagget.

Ocampo has some nice victories over Daniel Escheverria, Alvaro Robles, Rames Agaton, Charlie Navarro, Jorge Paez Jr. and Johnny Navarrette.