Via Charles Brun: Vergil Ortiz Jr., undefeated, high-ranked and 4th WBO heavyweight contender Michael McKinson has agreed a deal with DAZN in early 2022.
Mike Coppinger first appeared on the news about WBC 1st, WBO 1st, 2nd WBA, 4th WBO Vergil Ortiz Jr. (18-0, 18 KOs), set a record against the undefeated McKinson (21 -0.2 KOs).
If nothing else, McKinson could teach Vergil Jr. Some defensive moves could come in handy later when he’s up against champions Errol Spence Jr., Yordenis Ugas or Terence Crawford.
McKinson to help Vergil prepare for a title
With McKinson as a male hitter, he can help Vergil Ortiz prepare for Crawford and Spence, both of whom fight from a left-handed stance. Also, McKinson wouldn’t help Vergil prepare for those guys.
You could argue that Ortiz would be better off taking on David Avanesyan, Conor Benn, Danny Garcia, Josesito Lopez, Abel Ramos or Rashidi Ellis. Of course, fighting any of them could be difficult, if not impossible, for Ortiz.
McKinson is one of those slick boxers who makes his opponents look lousy by avoiding shots and using his pull-back-style exit pressure. He is tedious to follow, but his effective style in the face of opposition at the domestic and European levels he has faced in his entire career since turning professional in year 2014.
Vergil needs a strong performance
You could argue that this is a significant move in the case of 23-year-old Ortiz compared to the last two opponents he faced in Egidijus Kavaliauskas and Maurice Hooker.
Those are world-class fighters, while the light 26-year-old McKinson is a domestic/European level fighter.
This is a perfectly safe type of fight for Vergil, but at this point he needs to face the kind of opposition that will prepare him to challenge for a world title in 2022 or 2023.
I’m sure McKinson’s loyal boxing fans feel he deserves to share the ring with Vergil, but if you look at Michael’s last three fights with Przemyslaw Runowski, Chris Kongo and Martin Harkin, he looks weak in those games.
Interestingly, McKinson managed to show off slick moves and was constantly nailed by overpowered rights by these guys who weren’t a top competitor.
That’s why if McKinson can be hit by these types of fighters despite his slick style, he’ll be quickly overpowered by Ortiz Jr. arrange early unless he decides to carry him so he gets some needed ammo.
Ortiz needs to focus on defense
It’s unclear why Vergil’s supporters at Golden Boy Promotion brought him back to this level of resistance. However, it could be that they are interested in something they saw in his last two battles against ‘Mean Machine’ Kavaliauskas and Hooker.
Ortiz Jr was hit a lot in those two games and was marked in the face very badly. During a match against Kavaliauskas last August, Ortiz was staggered and nearly knocked out during that match after being hit by a large hand twice on the Olympic athlete’s head.
Even though Ortiz weathered the storm and eventually stopped ‘Mean Machine’ in the eighth round, it was unsettling to see him critically injured at this level.
“Source: Vergil Ortiz Jr., ESPN’s 4th, and undefeated boxer Michael McKinson have agreed to a deal for a match that will feature Golden Boy Boxing on DAZN in early 2022,” said Mike Coppinger. .
