By Ian S Palmer
Unbeaten welterweight prospect Vergil Ortiz Jr of Dallas, Texas will be taking on unbeaten Michael McKinson of Portsmouth, England this Saturday, August 6th. The 12-round bout from Fort Worth, Texas can be seen live in most nations on DAZN. Ortiz was last in the ring in August when he stopped Egidijus Kavaliauskas in the eighth round to defend his WBO International Welterweight Title. He had won the vacant title by stopping Maurice Hooker in the seventh round five months earlier. McKinson last fought in March when he beat Alex Martin by a 10-round unanimous decision. This fight was originally scheduled for March but was postponed when Ortiz had to pull out due to a medical condition.
Ortiz is one of the hottest prospects in boxing right now as the 24-year-old owns a perfect record of 18-0 with 18 Ko’s. His 100 per cent knockout record means he’s a feared puncher with excellent power. He turned pro in 2016 and has boxed 60 rounds since. Before that he enjoyed a fine amateur career by winning National Silver Gloves Titles from 2012 to 2014. He also won a National Under-17 Crown in 2013 and placed second a year later. In addition, he placed second at the 2016 National Golden Gloves Championships.
Since turning pro, Ortiz has also captured the vacant NABF Junior Super Lightweight Title and something called the World Boxing Association Gold World Welter Title. His biggest wins have been against Kavaliauskas, Hooker, Samuel Vargas, Brad Solomon, Antonio Orozco and Mauricio Herrera. He was also the first man to stop Herrera. Ortiz has also beaten the likes of Jesus Alvarez Rodriguez, Juan Carlos Salgado, Roberto Ortiz and Jesus A Valdez Barrayan. Ortiz, who trains with Robert Garcia, stands 5-feet-10-inches tall and owns a 70-inch reach.
The 28-year-old McKinson is a southpaw who also owns a perfect mark as he climbs into the ring at 22-0 with 2 Ko’s. Yes, you read that right, he has just a pair of stoppages as a pro for a current knockout ratio of just 9.1 per cent. However, he has dropped several other opponents to the canvas during his career, so perhaps his power is a bit underrated.
McKinson has boxed 149 rounds since making his pro debut in 2014 following a short amateur career. Along the way he’s also captured the vacant WBC Youth World Welterweight Title, the vacant WBC International Silver Welterweight Belt and the vacant WBO European Welterweight Crown. McKinson hasn’t really fought any recognizable opponents as of yet with his biggest wins coming against the likes of Ryan Martin, Colin Lynes, Ryan Kelly, Evgeny Pavko, Luis Alberto Veron, Martin Harkin and Chris Kongo.
Just nine of McKinson’s 22 opponents have entered the ring with winning records and they have been nine of his last 10 foes and the last eight in a row. The last opponent he fought with a losing record was Kevin McCauley in 2018 as he had a mark of 15-169-12. McKinson stands 5-feet-9-inches tall with a 70-inch reach so gives up one inch in height to Ortiz.
Prediction…
This is arguably a step backward for Ortiz but he still needs to focus and get the job done. McKinson has pretty good boxing skills but his lack of power should enable Ortiz to eventually wade in and break him down without much in the way of resistance. I’m expecting Ortiz’s power to prevail on Saturday to remain undefeated and keep his knockout streak intact.
