The pride of Grand Prairie, Texas, Vergil Ortiz, Jr. (18-0, 18 KOs), and top 10 ranked, undefeated welterweight contender Michael “The Problem” McKinson (22-0, 2 KOs) of Portsmouth, Great Britain hosted a media workout to promote their upcoming fight on Saturday, August 6 at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas that will stream live worldwide, exclusively on DAZN. Their 12-round fight will be for Ortiz’s WBO International Welterweight Title.
VERGIL ORTIZ, JR., WBO INTERNATIONAL WELTERWEIGHT TITLE HOLDER
“It feels great to be back at home. It’s really hot, but that’s just what I’m used to. It feels great. I’m just ready to fight. It’s been like a year. It sucks that a lot of things happened within that year, and it’s taken a full year to come back around, but hopefully, after this fight, everything’s back on schedule.”
“Well, first off, I saw his fight, and I saw two southpaws with the same style. So it was a bit of a clash of styles. So not only is the opponent that he fought on that day a completely different style from mine, it’s just that there’s nothing that I could take away from that fight because he didn’t fight someone that fought like me. That was a different version of him fighting someone else, so there’s really not a whole lot for me to go off.”
“We were supposed to fight in January, so I was getting ready before that. We were basically in full camp mode right before that. When I train, I’m like 110%. My body was going as hard as I could possibly go. Unfortunately, we didn’t find January; we set a new date in March. And I think with just all those months of just back-to-back with non-stop training, my body just couldn’t take it anymore. This time we had no fall-throughs with the schedule, and this time my body feels great, and we’re ready to go.”
“Fortunately, time is on my side. I’m only 24 years old, and at the same time, I don’t want to be wasting time. You know what that’s like. I should have fought three or four times already, and that’s time we won’t get back. So I try my best to remain optimistic about any scenario, no matter how negative it is. But overall I feel very happy. I’m very excited to be back in the ring and ready to put on a great show for the fans all across the world.”
MICHAEL MCKINSON, UNDEFEATED WELTERWEIGHT CONTENDER:
“Over in the UK, I’m known as a tricky southpaw. I don’t think I get enough credit as I’m a very smart southpaw. I’m actually a right-handed lefty; people don’t really know that. You don’t get to 22-0, winning four international titles along the way for not being a good fighter. I believe I’m a very good fighter, but I haven’t had the opportunity to prove that I’m world-class. Along the way, I’ve never had the luxury of picking and choosing whom I get to fight next. I’ve had to take risks from early on and be on the B side from early on to get to where I am right now.”
“I believe that my rise has been a lot sweeter than most other [fighters]. Somebody tweeted us that this week actually, in my second professional fight, I fought at a cricket ground in Northern Ireland in front of 500 people compared to Vergil’s second fight; he fought on a Canelo undercard. So my rise has been from the very bottom to get where I am. But what people don’t realize is I’m here on merit. Because of everything that’s happened along the way, I deserve my opportunity to fight Ortiz. I’ve earned it the hard way.”
“I’m excited to be in Texas. I’m excited to show more of my ability than I’ve been able to show in my previous fights because in my previous fights, I’ve coasted. Points win against good fighters, but I’ve not been in any trouble. I have not had to dig deep. I’ve not had to go somewhere that I’ve never been before and I know I’m going to have to in this fight. So I’m looking forward to it. I’m excited for Saturday and I can’t wait.”
“I’ll pick one thing out that I’ve got different than everyone he has ever faced. He’s never faced an undefeated fighter like me. He’s never been in the ring with someone that’s never tasted defeat. I’ve never tasted defeat. I don’t know what it’s like to lose. I’m a very proud Englishman coming to the other side of the world, coming to the lion’s den in an attempt to tame the young lion. He’s looked vulnerable in certain fights, but he’s not put a foot wrong, and he’s a great young fighter. But I have a different style than most people, a style that can expose most things in certain fighters. So I know I’ve got a hard fight ahead of me. I’ve got a big task ahead of me, but I know I’m very mentally capable of pulling it off.”
VERGIL ORTIZ, JR., WBO INTERNATIONAL WELTERWEIGHT TITLE HOLDER:
“I feel very good. I am excited to get back into the ring. It’s been a year – a really long layoff. I wish we could have been a little bit more active, but we’re here now and ready to make the most out of it.”
“I’m expecting a very tactical fight – almost like a chess match in there. I think fans will get to see how smart I am in the ring.”
“It’s exciting and motivating to be on the threshold to bigger opportunities. It makes me want to work harder.”
“It’s a hometown crowd and I hope we get to pack the house.”
MICHAEL MCKINSON, UNDEFEATED WELTERWEIGHT CONTENDER:
“It feels good to be here. Obviously, back in March, unfortunate circumstances happened and Ortiz had to withdraw. But we got the opportunity again, so a big shout out and thank you to Team Golden Boy because they didn’t need to offer it to me again, but they did.”
“It feels good to be in Texas. For me and where I’m from, fighting in the States is big – I get to do it twice and I get to headline both. I’m happy.”
“I’m not going to have to be looking for Ortiz this time around. He’s a young lion, he hasn’t really put a foot wrong, and I’m really here just trying to tame the lion. I’ll win U.S. fans like I did last time.”
“A win over Ortiz changes my life; it changes my city of Portsmouth, my team, my daughter and everyone around me.”
MARLEN ESPARZA , WBC, WBA, AND RING MAGAZINE FLYWEIGHT WORLD CHAMPION:
“I’m feeling great about my first ring defense. We had a great camp; we’ve been focusing on this since the last time I was in the ring. We knew we didn’t want to stop any of the momentum, we asked for a quick turnaround, and Golden Boy also wanted a quick turnaround and so far, so good. I’m looking forward to get in there and get it done.”
“It’s going to be an exciting fight, it’s not an easy opponent. We’ve been working hard. It’s going to be somewhat a little different from my end – it’s going to be entertaining.”
“There’s going to be a lot of fireworks for sure. I’ve been practicing a lot of different styles. The fans haven’t seen everything that I can do yet!”
MAURICE HOOKER, FORMER LIGHT WELTERWEIGHT WORLD CHAMPION:
“I’m confident, and I’m ready to do my job.”
“I’m going to do the same thing that you saw last fight: I’m coming to fight and I’m not cowering down to anybody.”
“Since my last fight, I’ve stayed in camp, stayed training so that I could be ready for anything to come my way. I expect a big crowd and everyone to be there for me.”
“I’m not really worried about what my opponent says. I’m from the hood. They hype me up. My fans can expect a good fight. I’m coming for it all, and I am putting it all out for Ms. Stacey.”
BLAIR COBBS, WELTERWEIGHT CONTENDER:
“I’m just focused, locked in, and ready for my opponent.”
“My last fight was a circumstantial lost. It’s not a big deal to me. I am the most exciting man in boxing, and I put on a show no matter if it’s a win or a loss – Blair “The Flair” puts on a great show.”
“I’m more focused and driven. I have a solid team that is better than ever. Blair “The Flair” is looking to be the best fighter he can possibly be every single fight. I made a lot of changes within my camp to make sure that fans get the best entertainment.”
“The guy I am fighting is tall, he’s strong, and lanky. He’s better than the last fighter I fought.”
“There’s no ‘stay busy’ fights, there’s no ‘easy’ fights. This is a hard fight, a big fight, and could easily become the pound-for-pound main event.”
ERIC GOMEZ, PRESIDENT, GOLDEN BOY:
“At Golden Boy, we emphasize what the fighters have done and what they have learned to get to this point. For me, as a promoter/matchmaker, it’s beautiful to watch a young kid like Vergil develop into a world-class fighter. That’s the part of the job that I enjoy, just watching the progression. Obviously, it was apparent when I saw him as an amateur; he had a lot of power, and he was knocking guys out in the amateur ranks with the bigger gloves. But now, he’s become so much more of a complete fighter. He works off the jab well; he does a good job of setting up the body shots and the counter punches. He’s a complete fighter.”
“Probably if we didn’t have the layoff, he probably would have been fighting for a title now. But obviously, we know we had a little bit of a setback, but now he’s 100%. I was able to go see him at the gym last week. I was very impressed with the combinations he was throwing and what he was working on.”
“Michael McKinson is a world-class fighter as well. This is going to be a very tough fight. It’s not an easy fight for him. It’s a different style, and he hasn’t faced a style like this in a while, but it’s part of the job if you’re going to get to that promised land and get to a world title fight. To have a fighting chance to win, you have to fight the top fighters in the world, and that’s what you have here two top, highly-rated fighters fighting each other. Both undefeated, both young, both hungry. This is what it’s all about. This is what makes our job fun, being able to see these types of fights.”
“Of course, Vergil is a dangerous fighter; you have to respect his power. But he’s also very young, and Vergil needs the experience and fights like these. He needs to be facing the top fighters in the world like Michael McKinson, who’s highly rated in the world. He needs the experience of fighting different styles. If he’s victorious on Saturday night, then he’s ready. He’s ready for any of the top fighters in the world.”
Tickets for Ortiz Jr. vs. McKinson are on sale and are priced at $275, $137.50, $82.50 and $44 not including applicable service charges. Tickets will be available for purchase online at Ticketmaster.com, DickiesArena.com and GoldenBoyPromotions.com.
Ortiz Jr. vs. McKinson is a 12-round welterweight fight presented by Golden Boy in association with Matchroom Boxing. The event is sponsored by Hennessy “Never Stop. Never Settle” and “BetOnline – Your Online Sportsbook Experts.” The fight will take place on Saturday, August 6 at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, TX, and will be streamed live worldwide on DAZN.
