Notebook: Vergil Ortiz ready to put lost year behind him by beating McKinson

Path clear to making Taylor-Catterall rematch; Donaire still has big aspirations; BetUS show; Quick hits; Show and tell

Aug 06, 2022

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Welterweight contender Vergil Ortiz Jr. has decided to take a glass-half-full view of being out of the ring for what has been a difficult past year.

“Fortunately, time is on my side,” Ortiz said. “I’m only 24 years old, and at the same time, I don’t want to be wasting time. You know what that’s like. I should have fought three or four times already, and that’s time we won’t get back.

“So, I try my best to remain optimistic about any scenario, no matter how negative it is. But overall I feel very happy. I’m very excited to be back in the ring and ready to put on a great show for the fans all across the world.”

Ortiz will be back in action for the first time in 51 weeks when he squares off against British southpaw Michael McKinson in a 12-rounder that will headline a Golden Boy Promotions card on Saturday (DAZN, 9 ET p.m.) at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, a home region fight for Ortiz, who is from nearby Grand Prairie.

The fight took on added significance this week when it was upgraded to title eliminator status. According to Golden Boy, the winner will become the mandatory challenger for WBA “regular” titlist Eimantas Stanionis (14-0, 9 KOs).

“I am grateful for this fight to be an eliminator,” Ortiz said. “It’s just closer to a world title shot.”

Added McKinson: “Knowing that this is now a world title eliminator adds more fuel to the fire. This is just the cherry on top.”

Last August, Ortiz scored his most significant win when he knocked out former world title challenger “Mean Machine” Egidijus Kavaliauskas in the eighth round. Kavaliauskas’ only previous loss was by ninth-round knockout to Terence Crawford challenging him for his welterweight world title in December 2019.

Ortiz was initially supposed to fight McKinson in January but the date was pushed back to March 19 in Los Angeles. Then Ortiz was forced to withdraw. Five days before the fight, he was hospitalized in Los Angeles and diagnosed with rhabdomyolysis, which occurs when damaged muscle tissue releases proteins and electrolytes into the blood. It can damage the heart and kidneys and in the most severe cases cause death.

Ortiz received treatment and is fine now. McKinson faced late replacement Alex Martin and won a lopsided decision.

Subscribe to DAZN for Ortiz-McKinson

Once Ortiz (18-0, 18 KOs) was ready to fight again, Golden Boy tried to match him with David Avanesyan (29-3-1, 17 KOs), a Russian fighter based in England. Golden Boy thought it had a deal but when Avanesyan’s team did not return the paperwork as promised — and it dragged out for a couple of weeks — Golden Boy moved on and circled back to McKinson.

“We were supposed to fight in January, so I was getting ready before that. We were basically in full camp mode right before that,” Ortiz said. “When I train, I’m like 110 percent. My body was going as hard as I could possibly go. Unfortunately, we didn’t fight in January. We set a new date in March and I think with just all those months of just back-to-back with non-stop training, my body just couldn’t take it anymore. This time we had no fall-throughs with the schedule, and this time my body feels great, and we’re ready to go.

“Michael McKinson is ranked by the WBO. He’s undefeated. It would look good on my resume if I defeat him. He’s a good fighter.”

McKinson (22-0, 2 KOs), 28, happily accepted the fight for a second time.

“This fight has been a long time coming,” McKinson said. “Originally, I was told I would fight Ortiz, Jr. in January and then it was moved to March. Then due to unfortunate circumstances, the March fight couldn't happen. But I just want to give a big thank you to Golden Boy and Team Ortiz Jr. for giving me the opportunity again. I know I am coming to the lion’s den, and I promise my family and team that I will not disappoint them.

“I believe in myself, in my hard work, in my rise. I have worked myself the hard way and I deserve my opportunity.”

Ortiz, however, is a huge favorite at -2,000, according to the BetUS line. While not taking anything for granted, Ortiz is just happy to be back in the ring.

“I’m just ready to fight,” he said. “It’s been like a year. It sucks that a lot of things happened within that year, and it’s taken a full year to come back around, but hopefully, after this fight, everything’s back on schedule.”

Catterall signs with Boxxer

Junior welterweight contender Jack Catterall has signed a multi-fight deal with promoter Boxxer after securing a release from Probellum in a move that likely will pave the way to a rematch with unified champion Josh Taylor. That fight is under discussion for Nov. 26 in Glasgow, Scotland, Taylor’s home turf and site of the first fight.

Taylor, then the undisputed champion, won a highly controversial decision over Catterall on Feb. 26 in Glasgow. With such intense criticism of the scoring, Taylor (19-0, 13 KOs), 31, allowed himself to be stripped or vacated two of his titles to pursue a rematch with England’s Catterall (26-1, 13 KOs), 29, rather than make mandatory defenses ordered by the WBA and WBC.

But since the United States government earlier this year put a $5 million bounty on Daniel Kinahan, the alleged Irish organized crime boss, British broadcaster Sky Sports has declined to air fighters with Probellum because it has been tied to Kinahan, who has been deeply involved in boxing as an adviser and co-founder of the now-defunct management/promotional outfit MTK Global.

Now that Catterall and Probellum have parted ways and he has signed with Boxxer, which has a contract with Sky Sports, it means he is welcome on the network that also has a deal with Taylor promoter Top Rank.

“I have wanted to fight Josh Taylor ever since our last fight so I’m very grateful to today announce that Probellum and (company president) Richard Schaefer have been true to their word. I have now signed a multi-fight deal with Sky to allow the fight to take place,” Catterall wrote on social media. “I want to say a massive thank you to Richard and the Probellum team for making this happen. They have always stated that they would never let boxing politics stand in the way of the biggest and best fights and there is no bigger fight than me against Josh Taylor.”

Catterall went on to say in the announcement news release of his signing, “This feels like a fresh start. I’ve kept it all under wraps until now, so I think this news will be a nice surprise for a lot of people, especially all those who have been asking me over the past weeks and months what is happening. Hopefully, they’ll be just as excited as I am and together we can all look forward to the next stages of my career with some big fights and big nights ahead.

“I genuinely believe that those big fights can be delivered through Boxxer and Sky. It’s a huge platform for me to perform on and I am mega excited about it.”

Boxxer CEO Ben Shalom welcomed Catterall to the fold.

“We are truly thrilled and we all want Jack Catterall to have an amazing career off the back of it and get all the opportunities he deserves,” Shalom said. “Maybe that will be the rematch with Josh Taylor, but whatever happens I think he deserves another world title shot in the very near future. I speak to Top Rank and to Josh a fair bit. I know that he wants the fight, but I also know that if there are things getting in the way of a rematch happening, then Jack is not going to hang around.

“For Jack, this heralds the start of a new dawn. Believe me when I say a storm is coming. You are looking at a future world champion in Jack and a man who is destined to write his name in the history books of British boxing. I can’t wait to see him in action again soon along with some huge fights we have earmarked for him down the line.”

Schaefer offered Catterall best wishes via Twitter.

“Big announcement today for Jack Catterall and the Josh Taylor rematch. The fight we ALL want. Probellum was founded to change the boxing game & we will NEVER let boxing politics stand in the way of the fights that fans & fighters want. We'll be backing you all the way Jack!”

Donaire will fight on

Nonito Donaire, who will turn 40 in November, said he plans to continue with his career in the wake of suffering a second-round knockout loss to Naoya Inoue in their three-belt bantamweight unification fight on June 7 that was also a rematch of Donaire’s competitive decision loss in the 2019 consensus fight of the year.

Rather than consider retirement, Donaire (42-7, 28 KOs), a Philippines native fighting out of Las Vegas, said his wish is to move down to junior bantamweight — the one weight class between flyweight and featherweight where he has not won a major world title — and challenge WBO titlist Kazuto Ioka and former four-division champion Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez.

“It's a really good fight with ‘Chocolatito’ and people are saying it would be legend versus legend,” said Donaire, who owns the record as the oldest fighter to win a bantamweight world title. “It’s a big fight. But I do like the Ioka fight as well because I want to get that title and become a five-division champion and then move back up to 118 and go for the undisputed crown once everything else is open and I get another opportunity for it.”

Donaire, a lock Hall of Famer and four-division champion, has long said he was interested in eventually moving down in weight from bantamweight to go for another title and also to fight Gonzalez, by far the biggest star in the division.

“Before the fight with Inoue, (Probellum promoter) Richard Schaefer and I talked about going down to 115,” Donaire said. “Making the weight was very simple for me and I made it quickly. I even made 117 before stepping on the scales (to fight Inoue). Richard and I were talking and saying that regardless of what happens here, maybe I can go down to 115 and fight the guys in that division.

“Richard is talking with Ioka’s people, with Mr. (Akihiko) Honda and he is talking to ‘Chocolatito’ as well. It’s exciting. There are a lot of things to look forward to.”

BetUS Boxing Show

If you missed the BetUS Boxing Show live at 1 p.m. ET on Friday on YouTube, please check out the replay (and also subscribe to the YouTube channel). We previewed and picked three fights that will take place on Saturday: the Vergil Ortiz Jr.-Michael McKinson fight that headlines on DAZN and the Maurice Hooker-Blair Cobbs fight on the undercard as well as the Michael Conlan-Miguel Marriaga main event on ESPN+ card. We also took viewer comments and questions and had a blast! Check it out here:

Quick hits

Weights from Belfast, Northern Ireland for the Top Rank on ESPN+ card on Saturday (2 p.m. ET): Michael Conlan 127.9 pounds, Miguel Marriaga 126.4 (contract is 128); Tyrone McKenna 147.4, Chris Jenkins 146.6; Kieran Molloy 151.6, Evgenii Vazem, 155.6; Padraig McCrory 167.9, Marco Antonio Periban 165; Kurt Walker 127.6, Marcos Gabriel Martinez 126.2; Paddy Donovan 146.8, Tom Hill 147.

Weights from Fort Worth, Texas, for the Golden Boy card on DAZN on Saturday (9 p.m. ET): Vergil Ortiz Jr. 146.6 pounds, Michael McKinson 146.8 (WBA welterweight eliminator); Marlen Esparza 111.8, Eva Guzman 109 (for Esparza’s WBC/WBA women’s flyweight title); Maurice Hooker 150, Blair Cobbs 146 (Hooker 3 pounds overweight, paid Cobbs $15,000 and the fight goes on); Bektemir Melikuziev 171, Sladan Janjanin 168; Floyd Schofield 133.8, Rodrigo Guerrero 134.6; Alex Martin 140, Hank Lundy 138.4; Carlos Nava 138.8, Rodolfo Hernandez 135; Figo Ramirez 117.4, Francisco Bonilla 117; Rohan Polanco 147, Dedrick Bell 146.8.

Natasha Jonas (11-2-1, 8 KOs), 38, a southpaw, who holds the WBO women’s junior middleweight title, will meet WBC counterpart Patricia Berghult (15-0, 3 KOs), 28, of Sweden, in a unification fight Sept. 3 (Sky Sports in the U.K.) at M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool, England, Jonas’ hometown, Boxxer announced on Friday. The bout will be on the undercard of the Liam Smith-Hassan Mwakinyo junior middleweight bout. Both women will be making their first title defense.

Luis Castillo (20-0-1, 13 KOs) stopped Mexican countryman Abraham Rodriguez (28-4, 14 KOs) in the sixth round of a WBC strawweight title elimination fight on Friday night in La Paz, Mexico. Rodriguez injured his knee in the sixth round, went to the canvas and was unable to continue. The victory positions Castillo as the mandatory challenger for 105-pound titlist Panya Pradabsri (38-1, 23 KOs), who defends the belt for the third time when he takes on Japan’s Tsubasa Koura (15-2, 10 KOs) on Aug. 30 at home in Thailand.

Freddie Roach-trained junior middleweight prospect Callum Walsh (4-0, 3 KOs), a 21-year-old Irish southpaw, dropped Benjamin Whitaker (15-9, 3 KOs), 38, of San Antonio, in the first round and cruised to a shutout decision (60-53 on all three scorecards) on Thursday night on the 360 Promotions card at the Quiet Cannon Country Club in Montebello, California. “Going the distance against a far more experienced veteran was a tremendous learning experience for Callum,” promoter Tom Loeffler said. “He was in great shape and was able to show the skill set which we believe validates him as one of the top rising stars in boxing.” Also on the card, Manny Pacquiao Jr., the son of the legend, won a unanimous decision in a three-round amateur lightweight bout against Dylan Merriken.

Show and tell

One thing you learn early on as a boxing writer is not to root for fight outcomes and to not really care who wins and loses. I love the sport but long ago dispensed with cheering for one fighter or another. My mantra before every single fight is simple: I hope it’s a good one, that there are no serious injuries and whoever wins so be it. But, of course, I have my favorite fighters. I’m human. Anyone who has read me for any length of time knows my all-time favorite fighter is the late Hall of Famer Arturo Gatti. But right behind him is the former junior lightweight and lightweight titleholder Acelino “Popo” Freitas. He was an explosive puncher, charismatic and as nice a guy as you could meet. But I was also a big fan of the late Diego “Chico” Corrales, also a massive puncher who won titles at junior lightweight and lightweight — and won perhaps the greatest fight of all time when he rallied to knock out Jose Luis Castillo in their legendary first fight in 2005.

When Brazilian national hero Freitas (35-0 with 31 KOs at the time) and Corrales (38-2, 31 KOs) were matched, I was really pumped for the fight. Admittedly, I hoped Freitas would win but if Corrales were to win I’d be happy for him also. Freitas was making his first WBO lightweight title defense when he faced Corrales, the reigning WBO junior lightweight titlist moving up in weight, in a Showtime main event at the Foxwoods resort in Mashantucket, Connecticut.

Freitas surprisingly dominated the first seven rounds of a very good fight as he boxed and moved, which confounded Corrales. But Corrales never backed down and finally broke through in the eighth round by landing a heavy combination to drop the tiring Freitas, who had expended tremendous energy with the fast pace he set. I was ringside covering the fight for USA Today and when he dropped Freitas with a huge right hand in the ninth round I thought Freitas was done and felt the fight could have been stopped. But Freitas got up and carried on until Corrales nailed him again for a third knockdown in the 10th round. Again, Freitas beat the count but this time he walked away and waved his hand at referee Mike Ortega in resignation. Just like that the fight, which Corrales led 85-84 and 85-83 while Freitas led 85-83 on the third card going into the 10th, was over in shocking fashion as Corrales celebrated his lightweight title victory. The fight was on Aug. 7, 2004 — 18 years ago on Sunday. Here is a supremely rare glossy site poster that was signed by Freitas and Corrales in my collection.

Ortiz-McKinson photo: Tom Hogan/Golden Boy; Catterall and Conlan-Marriaga photos: Mikey Williams/Top Rank; Inoue-Donaire photo: Naoki Fukuda

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