Undefeated Welterweight Michael McKinson has signed a promotional deal with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing.
McKinson (20-0, 2 KOs) secured the biggest win of his career last month, dropping Chris Kongo on route to a unanimous decision victory on the undercard of Dillian Whyte’s rematch win over Alexander Povetkin in Gibraltar, claiming the WBO Global title.
The Portsmouth native, who has been vocal in his aspirations to face his domestic rivals as well as world operators like Vergil Ortiz Jr and Jaron Ennis believes his new promotional team will deliver him the biggest opportunities and is hopeful of making his dream at fighting at Portsmouth FC’s home ground of Fratton Park a reality.
“Signing with Matchroom is the best thing that’s happened to my career,” said McKinson.
“It’s been frustrating times for a while, but I got my chance against Chris Kongo, and now I’m in the position where I want to be in my career, so I’m really excited.
“I’ve worked hard for a long time. This is my seventh year as a professional and I have finally got something that I want. When we were on the plane out to Gibraltar, Eddie Hearn said to go out there and chase your dreams, and I made it clear all week that it was going to be the Michael McKinson show.
“I’m here to stay and it feels good that everything I’ve said has come true.
“None of this would be possible without MTK Global too. I’m blessed to have them backing me and supporting me, and for the first time in my career I’m not worried about getting big fights. I’ve got full faith and trust in Matchroom to get me these big opportunities.
“For a long time, my name was never mentioned alongside some of the other Welterweights, but now my name is in the picture. It’s no secret I want to face all of the guys out there, so let’s all fight each other.
“My biggest goal is to one day fight at Fratton Park in Portsmouth.
“Every little bit of success I have is making that dream come true little by little, so hopefully it gets done one day and I can make history for my city.”
‘The Problem’ joins a stacked group of Welterweights at Matchroom including Conor Benn, Josh Kelly and Florian Marku and told Pro Boxing Fans after Benn’s first round victory over Samuel Vargas that he would relish a showdown with ’The Destroyer’.
Promoter Eddie Hearn says he has drawn out plans for the 27-year-old southpaw to make his return in the summer and believes he is ready for world level fights, with a rating of #6 by the WBO behind world champion, Terence Crawford.
“As I always say, ‘winner stays on’, and I’m delighted to be working with Michael McKinson,” said Eddie Hearn.
“For a long time he has been an avoided fighter and now after his huge win in Gibraltar, he is ready to move onto World level.
“Michael has a great mindset and a huge fan base in Portsmouth, we are already planning a major step-up for him in the summer. Next summer we want to be at Fratton Park in a blockbuster – exciting times ahead!”
MTK Global [McKinson’s management] promoter Lee Eaton said: “I’m over the moon for Michael for earning a promotional deal with Matchroom. He has come up the hardest route possible and has produced some fantastic performances over the last few years.
“He came to us when he was 13-0 and has fought anybody that was put in front of him, so I’m so pleased that all of his hard work over the years is finally paying off.”
You can follow McKinson’s journey on Twitter: @mikeytheproblem and Instagram: mikeytheproblem
