Mikael Zewski is acclimating well to a new weight class. He hopes an impressive victory in his next fight will lead to an eventual world title shot.

Zewski will face Carlos Ocampo tonight in a 10-round bout at Videotron Coliseum in Zewski’s hometown of Trois-Rivieres, Canada, and will stream live on RDS in Canada and on the Probellum website in the United States (7 p.m. ET/ 4 p.m. PT).

At Thursday’s weigh-in, Zewski weighed in at 153.8 pounds. Ocampo weighed 153.6 pounds.

Zewski was scheduled to face hard-hitting contender Serhii Bohachuk but Bohachuk withdrew from the fight after going back to his native Ukraine to serve in the national army in its defense of the ongoing invasion by Russia.

After losing his final fight as a welterweight to former world title challenger Egidjus Kavaliauskas in September 2020, Zewski (35-2, 23 knockouts) made the move up to the junior middleweight division. In his most recent bout on August 28, Zewski defeated Dilan Loza by unanimous decision.

The 33-year-old is very popular among his hometown constituents. Surprisingly tonight will mark the first time Zewski has ever had a pro fight in his hometown. Promoter Yvon Michel hopes it is not the last time.

“The card is presented in the brand-new 5,000-seat amphitheater in Trois-Rivieres and we are expecting a crowd of 3,500 to 4,000 spectators,” Michel told The Ring Thursday afternoon. “Ocampo is ranked by the WBO [at No. 11] and has predicted a knockout. Zewski is fighting for the second time as a junior middleweight. This fight is a turning point for him. For this homecoming fight, he had requested a quality and top-ranked opponent to provide a high-quality fight for the fans.

“I believe the fight will be very intense with two skilled but aggressive fighters. I see Ocampo taking the lead early but Zewski adjusting and coming back strong down the stretch and earning a close but convincing win.”

A victory would put Zewski into contender status in a very crowded 154-pound division. If a contender is not immediately available for Zewski to face, Michel has alternate plans for later this year.

“A win will place Zewski in the mix in the junior middleweight division and will confirm his home base popularity and selling capabilities,” said Michel. “We will keep him active with another great fight during mid-summer at the same venue.”

Ocampo (32-1, 20 KOs), who resides in Ensenada, Mexico, knocked out Omir Rodriguez in the opening round of his most recent bout on January 15. The 26-year-old has won his last 10 bouts, seven by stoppage, since suffering the only loss of his career against Errol Spence Jr. in June 2018, for Spence’s IBF welterweight title.

In the co-feature of the GYM Promotions/ Probellum card, Movladdin Biyarslanov (9-0, 7 KOs), a hard-hitting junior welterweight originally from Russia and now residing in Toronto, will square off against Mexico’s Roberto Verdugo (10-3-1, 4 KOs) in a 10-round bout.

Sebastien Bouchard (19-2, 8 KOs), of Baie-Saint-Paul, Quebec, Canada, will face Ricardo Lara (22-9, 10 KOs), of El Grullo, Mexico, in a 10-round welterweight bout.

Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter @FSalazarBoxing.

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