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Vergil Ortiz Jr. vs. Michael McKinson: Betting Preview, Odds, Picks & Prediction (2022)

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On Saturday, we head to Forth Worth, TX, for an intriguing matchup between two welterweights who have yet to lose in the professional ranks. For Vergil Ortiz Jr., who comes into this bout as the prohibitive favorite, all 18 of his wins have come inside the distance, as he looks to make it 19 straight on Saturday.

Will Michael McKinson, who has won all 22 of his pro fights, has something to say about that? Let’s take a closer look at how things might shake out.

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Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook on August 4, 2022

Vergil Ortiz Jr. (18-0, 18 KOs) vs. Michael McKinson (22-0, 2 KOs)

Still just 24 years old, it’s scary to think Ortiz Jr. has yet to enter his prime, especially as he enters this fight with 18 straight KO/TKO wins. Over his last four fights, all of which have come since 2019, Ortiz Jr. has picked up and defended the WBA Golf and WBO International welterweight belts, two championships he expects to have for quite some time as he looks to add more.

The last time we saw him in the ring was last summer, almost a year ago to the day, against Egidijus Kavaliauskas. In an eight-round fight, the longest of his career, Ortiz Jr. wore his opponent down before decisively getting the TKO.

Originally supposed to fight McKinson earlier this year, Ortiz Jr. struggled through a COVID diagnosis, which may have been a blessing in disguise as he has now been resting for just under a year since his last fight.

As for McKinson, while he does come into this fight undefeated, all but his most recent fight have come in the United Kingdom against relatively unknown fighters. Even more troubling, only twice has he been able to end a fight inside the distance, with his most recent coming in 2017 vs. a fighter named Colin Lynes.

Bottom Line

It would be an understatement to say that McKinson is taking a step up in this fight, as he’s fought almost no one of note while Ortiz Jr. has torn through the WBO and WBA ranks. The odds movement has agreed in the straight-up market, as Ortiz Jr. opened up as a -1000 favorite and has ballooned since, sitting as high as -1800 at some sportsbook shares in the United States.

One market that I don’t think has correlated is the prop market, and I believe there are tons of value at -360 for Ortiz Jr., as he has for 18 straight fights now, to end this one inside of the distance.

Pick: Vergil Ortiz Jr by KO, TKO or DQ -360

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Johnny is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Johnny, check out his free UFC picks newsletter and follow him @JohnnyCovers.