'I have a chip on my shoulder' - American Vergil Ortiz Jr hungrier than ever heading into battle with Portsmouth's Mikey McKinson

And the Texan says he has a ‘chip on his shoulder’ heading into his August 6 Dickies Arena, Fort Worth, Texas welterweight showdown with the Pompey Problem.

McKinson, 28, will face the man he was initially due to meet in March, prior to Ortiz Jr's late withdrawal having been admitted to hospital with a serious condition just days before the scheduled Los Angeles bout.

The States fighter insists the issues endured in the build-up to his last bout are now well behind him and he is hungrier than ever, with a little more than seven weeks to go before he meets McKinson in his home state of Texas.

Ortiz Jr told Golden Boy Promotions: ‘I haven't been in the ring for about a year now. I have a chip on my shoulder, I want to prove something. I feel great, I feel 100 per cent, I'm ready to go. Everything is great.

‘I'm really good at staying mentally positive. I knew that once I got better we were going to go back into the gym and just do it all over again, that's what we've been doing, I feel awesome.’

McKinson is bidding to cause a big upset as he meets 18-0 perfect knock-out pro Ortiz Jr. But the Brit himself heads to the States with a perfect pro record of 22-0 himself and Ortiz Jr – who will have been out of the ring for nearly a year by the time August 6 comes around – is not underestimating his unbeaten opponent.

He added: ‘Of course, you've got to have respect for that (McKinson). Anyone coming across the pond, from either side, (to fight) that's a big deal.’