Michael McKinson was relatively unknown to most in the industry by the time he was named to next face Vergil Ortiz Jr.

The only thing that Ortiz needed to know about the unbeaten Brit was that he agreed to the fight.

“He was just the name we were given,” Ortiz told BoxingScene.com. “It’s never, ‘Hey do you want to fight this guy?’ It’s always, ‘You’re gonna fight this guy.” I’m just like, 'OK, put 'em in front of me and I’ll take 'em out.'”

Ortiz (18-0, 18KOs) has done just that with every opponent put in front of him by Golden Boy Promotions since turning pro nearly six years ago. The 23-year-old from the greater Dallas area has yet to go eight full rounds, continuing his perfect knockout-to-win run while steadily increasing opposition.

A stiff challenge isn’t anticipated by most observers when Ortiz and England’s McKinson (21-0, 2KOs) meet atop a March 19 DAZN show from USC Galen Center in Los Angeles. A very different look, however, is expected to come from the matchup.

McKinson comes from a fighting family, trained by his father Michael Ballingall and whose younger brother, Lucas Ballingall is a pro lightweight. The 27-year-old southpaw has gone ten rounds in each of his last seven starts, including three straight wins over previously unbeaten opposition and an impressive showing in outpointing Poland’s Przemyslaw Runowski (19-1, 5KOs) in his most recent start last August 14 in Brentwood, Essex, England.

Hours after McKinson’s latest win came the same for Ortiz, overcoming a rough second round to floor Lithuania’s Egidijus Kavaliauskas five times en route to an eighth-round knockout just outside his hometown in Frisco, Texas.

Kavaliauskas (22-2-1, 18KOs) was in line with many opponents Ortiz has faced to date. McKinson represents his first unbeaten foe and perhaps the first pure boxer that the Texan knockout artist will face as a pro.

“I’m expecting something like a chess match. I’m ready for it,” insists Ortiz. “I can adapt to the change in the ring. Change is not a bad thing. Not everyone fights the same way. Not even two fighters who fight aggressively and come forward are going to do it the same way. They have their own way of thinking, their own tactics.

“I just love experiencing how people think and how they fight.”

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox