FORT WORTH, TX (August 4, 2022): Golden Boy’s knockout sensation and 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 press conference to discuss their upcoming fight on Saturday, August 6 at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas that will stream live worldwide, exclusively on DAZN.
At the press conference, it was announced that their 12-round combat will also be an eliminator fight for the WBA Welterweight World Championship belt in addition for Ortiz’s WBO International Welterweight Title.
Several of the card’s fighters also participated in the press conference including newly crowned WBC, WBA, and Ring Magazine Flyweight World Champion Marlen Esparza (12-1, 1 KOs), and her mandatory opponent, the WBA flyweight world championship challenger of Maracay, Venezuela Eva Guzman (19-1, 11 KOs).
Also in attendance, local fan-favorite Maurice «Mighty Mo» Hooker (27-2-3, 18 KOs) exchanged some lively words with Philadelphia’s Blair “The Flair” Cobbs (15-1-1, 10 KOs). Indio, CA’s Bektemir Melikuziev (9-1, 7 KOs) was onsite with his opponent Sladan Janjanin (32-10, 24 KOs) and fighters featured on the undercard also took to the stage to talk about their upcoming bouts, including: Floyd Schofield (10-0, 8 KOs), Alex Martin (17-4, 6 KOs), Carlos Nava (8-0, 5 KOs), and Figo Ramirez (1-0).
VERGIL ORTIZ, JR., WBO INTERNATIONAL WELTERWEIGHT TITLE HOLDER:
“I am grateful for this fight to be an eliminator, it’s just closer to a world title shot.”
“It has been a great camp, staying in Venice, CA running outside by the beach. That the Texas heat shocked me when I landed and walked out of the airport. But after a few minutes, I was thankful because it feels like home, I knew I was home.”
“I have a lot of pride being from Texas and fighting in Texas. A lot of my peers and family are here and it pumps me up.”
“This is boxing, anything can happen. I have respect for all fighters that step in the ring. We all fight for the same thing, we all fight to give our families a better life. And I respect every fighter for it.”