Today welterweights Vergil Ortiz and Michael McKinson held a virtual press conference to talk about this weekend’s main event fight. Here, Ortiz will be coming off a full year layoff as one of boxing’s most hyped prospects and talks about his expectations for the bout and the things he’s trying to keep in perspective. Check out a few excerpts from today’s presser below with the full highlights in the video above thanks to our friends at Fight Hub TV.
Ortiz on if he believes he can keep his knockout streak alive in this fight
“As far as being concerned about keeping (my stoppage streak) alive, I’m not gonna lie, I really don’t care. It’s a good thing, and I’m grateful for having it. I’m kind of known for that, and it’s like it’s a blessing and a curse at the same time. It’s a blessing because people are like ‘oh, let’s watch him, he’s won all his fights by knockout.’ But at the same time a lot of people only see me as some reckless punching machine that only goes in for the knockout, can’t think.
“That’s not the kind of fighter I am. If anything, a lot of my knockouts have come from me thinking and exploiting their weaknesses and stuff like that. So anyways, long story short, I’m not really worried about if I get a knockout this fight or not. I would like one but I’m not concerned about losing my knockout streak or anything like that.”
Ortiz on if he feels the need to impress more or be more outgoing outside of the ring to make up for time lost
“If I start talking outside of the ring you’re gonna tell right away that that’s not the kind of person I am so I’m not gonna sit here and try to fake it and be someone that I’m not. I’m not good at doing that. I can do it if I want to but it’s gonna be pretty obvious that that’s not the kind of person I am so I’m just gonna stick to letting my fists do the talking, letting my skills pay the bills.”