Michael McKinson has heard rumours that Vergil Ortiz will not fight at welterweight again.
The Englishman was meant to fight the American last Saturday but when Ortiz was diagnosed with rhabdomyolysis he had to pull out with a week’s notice, leaving McKinson to fight Alex Martin instead. Alexis Rocha beat Blair Cobbs in the ninth round in the new headline event.
Speaking to IFL TV after the fight, McKinson suggested there would be little chance of seeing Ortiz at his former weight class again.
“I’ve…heard tonight that there’s no way he’s making 147 again,” McKinson said.
“I do wish him a speedy recovery. I appreciate the opportunity that him and his team Golden Boy gave me.
“Whatever he thought of the performance, it really doesn’t matter because I don’t think he will fight at 147 again.
“And even if he does, I'm not relying on getting that fight, I’m not hoping on getting that fight. I’ve got a very good WBO ranking, I’ll probably move up to top 20 on BoxRec with that win.”
Nevertheless, McKinson is still confident he could beat Ortiz were he given the chance.
“A lot of people think he would walk through me in six rounds,” McKinson claimed.
“There’s a lot of people tonight who actually approached me and said, ‘Listen we believed before the fight and we believe more so now we believe you’re all wrong for Vergil.”