Michael McKinson says he is open to facing unbeaten Americans, Jaron Ennis or Vergil Ortiz Jr next.
McKinson has been vocal in his ambitions to face his British rivals including Conor Benn, Josh Kelly and Chris Kongo, however with a ranking of #6 by the WBO, ’The Problem’ says he is keen to test himself against the best in the USA.
Rising Golden Boy prospect, Vergil Ortiz Jr has looked devastating, with 16 straight victories by knockout, whilst Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis has appeared equally impressive notching 26 wins, with the pair ranked #2 and #7 respectively behind WBO world champion, Terence Crawford.
The 26-year-old called the pair out on social media earlier this week and insists he would relish the opportunity to face either, with himself and Ortiz Jr with the same management team in MTK Global, although the 22-year-old Texan is reportedly in talks to face Maurice Hooker on March 27.
“I’ve earnt a big fight a long time ago, it’s just none of them are willing to give me the opportunity,” McKinson told proboxing-fans.com
“So now I’ve just got to force myself in, that’s why on Twitter this week I’ve been calling out Vergil Ortiz and Jaron Ennis.
Fed up waiting for the British lads to wanna fight me now. @MTKGlobal what’s @VergilOrtiz saying
— michael mckinson (@mikeytheproblem) January 5, 2021
I wanna fight @JaronEnnis
— michael mckinson (@mikeytheproblem) January 6, 2021
“What’s the point in waiting for the British guys to want to fight me when they don’t want to, so we just move on, we’ll call out even bigger, even better names.
“I don’t know the chances of a fight like that [against Ortiz] happening, but that’s why I’m in the sport.
“I haven’t really had to get out of first gear, I’m more than ready for my next level, so why not?
“I’m a massive risk to them all, so why not focus on the world and call out people over the world, I’m in a good position to.
“I’ve called out Jaron Ennis and Vergil Ortiz, as they’re the next big thing in the states, take me to the states, let’s go.”
McKinson landed three knockdowns on route to a unanimous decision victory over Martin Harkin in October to extend his undefeated record to 19-0 (2 KOs).
The Portsmouth man is targeting a return to the ring in March and believes at his best, there are few capable of beating him.
“I get to like rounds five and six and I’ve already got the fights won, as long as I’m cautious,” McKinson added.
“I can hurt people, I know that a lot of people are going to underestimate my power, because I’ve only stopped two people.
“But, let them underestimate that, because they’re going to come unstuck.
“The only fight really that I had to go through the gears and dig deep was when I fought the Russian guy for the WBO European [title].
“I was a little bit underprepared in many different reasons and stuff like that, but I still got the win.
“Other than that, especially when I’m prepared, I don’t think there’s many fighters that stand a chance against a well prepared Michael McKinson.”
Watch the full interview with Michael McKinson below where he discusses why a fight with Chris Kongo failed to materialise, Ryan Garcia’s win over Luke Campbell, the Lightweight scene and the possibility of Amir Khan facing Kell Brook:
