Errol Spence to defend welterweight title in Dallas against Carlos Ocampo

Welterweight world titleholder Errol Spence Jr. is coming home.

Spence will make a mandatory defense against Carlos Ocampo on June 16 in a Showtime-televised bout at the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas, TGB Promotions announced Monday. It will be the first time the venue, a Dallas Cowboys training facility, will host a boxing card.

Spence (23-0, 20 KO's), a 28-year-old southpaw from nearby Desoto, Texas, will fight in his home state for the fifth time in his professional career, and just the second time in Dallas. The 2012 Olympian last fought in Dallas in 2015, when he knocked out Alejandro Barrera inside five rounds.

"I'm honored to be fighting in Dallas before my hometown fans and the people who have supported me from the beginning," said Spence.

"This is something I've been wanting to do for a while now. It's going to be great to fight at The Star, and because I'm a big Dallas Cowboys fan, I'm looking forward to fighting on the campus of Dallas Cowboys world headquarters."

"Errol Spence Jr. has emerged as one of the most exciting champions in the sport today with a combination of skills that he has crafted into a fan-friendly style,'' TGB Promotions president Tom Brown said in a statement.

"This is an opportunity for Errol to defend his title before the fans in his hometown and to continue to demonstrate why he is the top man in the 147-pound division. Carlos Ocampo, a young, hungry contender, will certainly bring his A-game, and that will bring out the best in Errol."

Spence will be making his second title defense. He knocked out Kell Brook in the 11th round last May in the former world champion's hometown of Sheffield to win the IBF 147-pound world title. In his first defense on Jan. 20 in Brooklyn, Spence stopped former world titleholder Lamont Peterson in the seventh round.

"I believe that I'm the No. 1 fighter in the welterweight division, and I'll step into the ring on June 16 with that feeling," Spence said. "I'm going to draw from the energy of my fans. I've studied some of Ocampo, and I can tell he likes to box, but he's willing to get into a fight. I know how he feels going into someone else's hometown for his first shot at the title. This is his big opportunity, and it's going to make this a great event."

Ocampo (22-0, 13 KO's), 22, of Mexico, is coming off a seventh-round knockout of Dario Ferman on Nov. 11 in his native country. However, Spence is a significant step up in opposition, and Ocampo has never fought in a 12-round fight, but nonetheless, he is looking forward to the challenge ahead of him.

"I'm training very hard for my fight against Errol Spence Jr.," Ocampo said. "This is the opportunity that I've worked my whole life to get, and I'm coming to take Spence's belt on June 16. I will give the fans a very exciting fight and show once again what Mexican fighters are made of."