By: Sean Crose
The 18-0 Vergil Ortiz headlined a main event at Dickies’ Arena in Fort Worth, Texas on Saturday when he faced a fellow undefeated fighter, the 22-0 Mike McKinson. The battle was scheduled for 12 in the welterweight division. The bout opened with an accidental headbutt in the first which left Ortiz with a nasty cut. The awkward McKinson prodded with his southpaw jab throughout much of the second while Ortiz patiently chose his shots. While McKinson was certainly a slippery fighter, the strength of Ortiz appeared to be proving too much for him in the third.
Ortiz ripped into McKinson’s body in the fourth. By the fifth round, it looked as if Ortiz was simply breaking his man down. McKinson’s simply had no answers for the body shots he was taking. With that being said, McKinson had a much better sixth. The seventh was almost too close to call. McKinson boxed well while Ortiz was able to have his moments going to the body. That body work proved to tell the tale in the eighth, as it finally took McKinson to the mat. The tough Englishman got up, however, and was able to avoid Ortiz for the remainder of the round.
McKinson went down immediately at the start of the ninth. He beat the count again, but was clearly in very bad shape. McKinson’s corner wisely threw in the towel.