'I think a lot of people are writing him out early' - big-name American Vergil Ortiz Jr offers his thoughts on showdown with Portsmouth's Michael McKinson
Vergil Ortiz Jr is certainly not overlooking the challenge 'tricky' Portsmouth fighter Michael McKinson is going to provide in their upcoming American showdown.
And Ortiz Jr insisted anyone 'writing off' the Pompey Problem ahead of their March 19 battle is foolish to do so.
McKinson heads for his States fight debut, with rumours the show is most likely to take place at the Los Angeles Galen Center, protecting his perfect 21-0 professional record.
But that has not stopped many on social media and within the boxing world, particularly American-based fight fans, predicting Ortiz Jr extending his 18-0 knock-out record against the British boxer with relative ease.
Ortiz Jr has long been tipped for future stardom in the States and has been mentioned for a possible meeting with huge welterweight names such as Terence Crawford - current WBO world champion - and other leading stars in the division with Jaron Ennis and Errol Spence Jr as early as this year.
But Ortiz Jr, with knock-out victories over former WBO world super-lightweight champion Maurice Hooker and Egidijus Kavaliauskas in his past two bouts, admitted he is facing a proposition he has never encountered before against McKinson.
And it's one the American believes is going to offer him a crucial learning experience against a southpaw. Speaking to iFL TV YouTube, Ortiz Jr said: ‘I’ve seen what YouTube has to offer (of McKinson fights), which isn’t a whole lot, but I’ve been able to see what the internet has to offer.
‘I don’t know a whole lot about him but I definitely see what type of fighter he is and what kind of style he’s going to take.
‘I don’t really know the exact decisions behind it (taking McKinson fight), but what I think is that I need one of those fights that’s going to give me experience against a fighter - especially against a southpaw - that’s going to be tricky, who’s going to make me think and all that stuff. It’s going to help me learn.
‘I think a lot of people are writing him out early, I think it’s going to be a difficult fight, we’re training for it.
‘I’m expecting like a chess match, there’s going to be a lot of thinking involved, a lot of strategy - my brain’s going to be hurting at the end - but not because of the punches!’