Vergil Ortiz Jr. will finally be starring under the bright lights of Tinseltown. 

The fast-rising welterweight Ortiz (18-0, 18 KOs) will be taking on Michael McKinson on March 19 at the Galen Center on the campus of the University of Southern California. 

Ortiz promoter Golden Boy submitted the venue as their desired location for the card on Thursday with the California State Athletic Commission, a source with direct knowledge of the development told BoxingScene.com.

The fight against the British prospect McKinson (21-0, 2 KOs) was announced by streaming service DAZN on Jan. 7 without a location or venue. 

Also slated to appear on the Oritz-McKinson undercard is 122-pound Los Angeles-based Armenian contender Azat Hovhannisyan (20-3, 16 KOs), sources informed of the negotiations told BoxingScene.com

Ortiz will finally be making his headlining debut in Los Angeles after most recently being a popular draw at home in Texas, and he won’t have to travel too far away from his new training grounds to get there. 

Ortiz announced on social media that he’ll now be training with the Norwalk, Calif.-based Manny Robles. Ortiz split from coach Robert Garcia in November, Garcia announced. 

Ortiz has headlined cards in his hometown of Grand Prairie against Antonio Orozco in August 2019 (KO6), in Fort Worth against Maurice Hooker (KO7) in March and in Frisco against Egidijus Kavaliauskas (TKO 8) in August. 

In between, Ortiz has also headlined at the Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, Calif. against Brad Solomon (KO5) in 219 and Samuel Vargas (KO7) in 2020.

The Fantasy Springs Casino has been a staple location for Golden Boy shows in Southern California in recent years, but it is situated 130 miles away from downtown Los Angeles, where USC is located.

Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, via email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com or on www.ManoukAkopyan.com.