Vergil Ortiz and Michael McKinson are scheduled to meet once again after their originally scheduled match in March was scrapped due to Ortiz being diagnosed and hospitalized due to rhabdomyolysis.

After months on the mend, the hard-hitting 24-year-old Ortiz (18-0, 18 KOs) will once again plan to meet the British challenger Michael McKinson (22-0, 2 KOs) on Aug. 6 on DAZN.

“I was very disappointed that I didn’t get to fight, especially since I found out that I wasn’t able to go on literally the week of the fight. It’s not like I wanted to waste a whole training camp and months before that. That’s not me,” Ortiz told BoxingScene.com and other media during a recent conference call. 

“Michael McKinson is ranked with the WBO, he’s undefeated and it would look good on my resume if I beat him. He’s a good fighter.”

As Ortiz fell ill, McKinson was able to salvage his training camp and make the most of his United States debut by remaining on the Golden Boy Promotions fight card. 

After dealing with a merry-go-round list of potential opponents, Alex Martin was finally approved as a competent combatant by the California State Athletic Commission. 

The fight ended on points much like many of the 28-year-old McKinson’s wins have throughout his eight-year professional career. McKinson cruised to a unanimous decision win with scores of 97-93, 98-92, and 99-91.

With just two knockouts in 22 bouts, McKinson is not considered a prolific puncher by any means. 

By not presenting the punching power to hurt Ortiz, perhaps McKinson is the perfect foe for Ortiz to regain his footing following a scary health ordeal. 

“Honestly, there really wasn’t a whole lot, how do I say this, varying things to look at [in McKinson’s last fight]. Everything that we expected we saw,” said Ortiz. 

“I saw him fight. I didn’t think too much about it analyzing. He fought someone with a completely different style than me, so you can’t really base off of that. But I’m aware of how he fights, and it was a more recent fight. We have a little more tape to go off of him.”

The fight against McKinson in March was scheduled to take place at the Galen Center in Los Angeles, but now, Ortiz will return back to his home state of Texas and headline a card at the Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.

Ortiz is a son of Grand Prarie and a popular draw in the Lone Star State, but he doesn’t deem fighting in his backyard as an extra boost. 

“I don’t see it as a home-field advantage. Definitely, the people will be on my side. But I feel that regardless of where I fight – the crowd erupts when I land punches anyways,” said Ortiz. 

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.