Ortiz vs McKinson Now a WBA Title Eliminator

The stakes just got higher for Vergil Ortiz of Grand Prairie and Mikey "The Problem" McKinson of Portsmouth, England. Saturday's main event at the Dickies Arena in Fort Worth between unbeaten welterweight prospects is now a WBA title eliminator. Meaning the winner will be the mandatory challenger for the WBA world title. Ortiz is ranked highly for the WBA and WBO world titles. A win for Ortiz will mean he will be ranked number one in the WBO, a belt held by Terence Crawford, and the mandatory challenger for the WBA held by Errol Spence of Dallas. McKinson said he "found out 5 or 10 minutes before they announced it." Mckinson added he "was not surprised" and that he'd be happy to return to Texas to fight Spence, should he beat Ortiz on Saturday night.

Ortiz is considered by many to be the best young prospect in the sport, and an all-Texas shootout with Spence has long been dreamed of by Texas fight fans, with AT&T stadium being the absolutely ideal home for the fight. Spence, who also holds the WBC and IBF titles, is rumored to be in heavy discussion for a unification bout with Crawford. Unifications typically take precedence over mandatories. However, that fight is far from being made. If that fight does not come off, Ortiz will be in a position to possibly pick which of the belts he wants to fight for. He'd be ranked in the top spot by both organizations. Ortiz and trainer Manny Robles both expressed no preference and were more than open to fighting either of the two welterweight champions.

Former World Champ Maurice Hooker Set to Return

Former WBO Jr welterweight Champion "Mighty Mo" Maurice Hooker of Dallas will get an early 33rd birthday present. The day before turning 33. he will step back into the ring for the first time in nearly a year and a half. Hooker will battle with loud-mouth, attention-seeking welterweight Blair the flair Cobbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on the August 6th undercard of Vergil Ortiz- Michael Mckinson at the Dickies Arena in Fort Worth.

 The Dallas native has not fought since being stopped by Grand Prairie native Vergil Ortiz in seven rounds in what was an exciting all-DFW showdown. It was also held at Dickies Arena. Hooker held the WBO world title at 140-pounds when he outpointed "Turbo" Terry Flanagan in June of 2018. Hooker traveled to the UK to defeat the countrymen and former lightweight world champ for the vacant belt. He then defended it successfully twice. Once against Oklahoma native Alex Saucedo, in a boxing rendition of the "Red River Shootout," the Texan got up off the mat and reigned victorious via seventh-round TKO. He then defended his belt in early 2019 against  "Slick Mick" Mikkel LesPierre, via unanimous decision at the Turning Stone Casino in upstate NY. He suffered his first career loss when he was stopped by Juan Carlos Ramirez in a unification bout at the College Park Center on the Grounds of UT Arlington. He picked up a tune-up win in a scrap with Uriel Perz. Hooker then suffered his second career loss. This one to Vergil Ortiz in 2021. "Mighty Mo" sports a career record of 27-2-3 (18)

Cobbs will also look to bounce back from his first career loss. After winning his first 15 of 16 professional bouts, with one draw, Cobbs ran into fellow Golden Boy welterweight prospect Alexis Rocha. In what was a barn burner on the grounds of the USC campus in Los Angeles, California, Rocha prevailed via 9th round KO. The Hooker-Cobbs fight is a must-win for both combatants. Hooker needs to get back in the win column and re-establish himself as a world title contender. Cobbs is coming off the loss and needs a win over a big name and former world champ to establish himself as a legitimate contender and not just a loud-mouthed prospect. Hooker would meet both criteria, and Cobbs sports a record of 15-1-1 (10). 

Avanesyan out as Vergil Ortiz's opponent. McKinson might be back in!

Vergil Ortiz vs Michael McKinson was on then it was off and now maybe it could be back on.  Ortiz was supposed to fight David Avanesyan on August 6th, but now that fight looks to be off and McKinson may be back in.  Ortiz’s manager, Rick Mirigian, explained that David Avanesyan never sent the contract back after agreeing to terms. Saying “Golden Boy did everything they wanted, accommodated their every crazy need they asked for, and Vergil even kicked in some money to help make the fight. They agreed to the deal and then never would send the actual contract back.” and that Michael McKinson 22-0 (2 KO) will likely step in. The 28-year-old British southpaw was meant to fight Ortiz (18-0, 18 KO) on Mar. 19 in Los Angeles, but the fight was scrapped when Ortiz was diagnosed with rhymbosis. McKinson remained on the card and defeated Alex Martin via a lackluster decision.

 Ortiz has not fought since August of last year when he destroyed former world title challenger Egidijus Kavaliauskas in eight rounds and dropped him a grand title of five times. Avanesyan was viewed as a decent opponent but a step back from  Kavaliauskas, who stopped Avanesyan in six rounds back in 2018. However, he was still viewed as far more of a threat to the 18-0 Texan than McKinson, who despite being undefeated and sporting a 22-0 record is thought to be tailor made and does not nearly have the resume to make people think he can stand up to Ortiz. However, McKinson's promoter, Eddie Heard, was quite confident that his fighter could do quite well, due to his unorthodox style.

The fight is still scheduled for August 9th and was thought to be held at the Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, however, that is not confirmed.  Ortiz fought at that venue back in 2021 when he stopped Maurice Hooker in for seven rounds, in an all-DFW shootout. The fight drew a fairly large and intense crowd. It would make sense to put the fight back at the Dickie's Arena. However, that has not been confirmed. Ortiz is currently ranked #1 by the WBO

Vergil Ortiz set to Return

Grand Prairie native, the former prospect of the year, and unbeaten welterweight phenom Vergil Ortiz appear to be set to return. Although no date or venue has been announced, multiple sources have reported that Ortiz will return to the ring and battle unbeaten British prospect Micahel McKinson. Both prospects are undefeated. Ortiz sports a perfect 18-0 (18) record and thee 27-year-old McKinson has a record of  21-0 but has shockingly won only two of those fights within the distance. 

McKinson held the WBO European welterweight title from 2019 to 2020 and currently holds the WBO Global title. he is trained by his father Michael Ballingall and most recently fought in Eddie's Garden in Brentwood, England, and defeated  Przemyslaw Runowski via wide decision. He scored his last win via stoppage all the way back in 2017 when he stopped Colin Lyles via 6th round TKO. 

Vergil Ortiz last fought in August as well and was challenged early on by Egidijus Kavaliauskas but rallied to score four knockdowns and secure an 8th round TKO. Ortiz was formerly trained by the legendary Robert Garcia, but the two ended the relationship back in November. Garcia traveled to Tulsa, Oklahoma to work Josh Franco's corner, and Vergil was trained by his dad and other members of the Garcia family. It is unclear exactly who will be working Ortiz's corner for the McKinson fight.

Last month, the WBC ordered Ortiz its #1 ranked welterweight to face #3 David Avanesyan in a final eliminator.  Rick Mirigian the manager of Ortiz informed the WBC to turn the fight down.  Although there has been no official word as to whether it’s an eliminator, however seeing as Ortiz is also ranked #1 by the WBO and McKinson is ranked third by the same organization, it seems like that's the direction the WBO will go with it. There's no date but it is expected to be televised on DAZN and will be the main event.