Vergil Ortiz Jr. vs. Michael McKinson: Live updates, round-by-round scoring, winner

Update 11:25 p.m. Both fighters are finally on the way to the ring, and we should be underway here shortly!

Update 11:00 p.m. The card is a bit behind schedule, so we’re probably looking at ring walks in the 11:20-11:30 p.m. range. We’ll be back to score the bout when the fighters get to the ring!

Two fighters put their zeros on the line Saturday evening in Fort Worth on a DAZN card. Vergil Ortiz Jr. and Michael McKinson square off in a welterweight bout, closing out a night that includes a flyweight title bout between Marlen Esparza and Eva Guzman. The main card gets started at 9 p.m. ET and the main event is expected to get underway in the 11 p.m. hour.

Ortiz is 18-0 and last fought a year ago when he successfully defended his WBO International title against Egidijus Kavaliauskas. He claimed an eighth round TKO, which is the longest any of his fights have lasted. McKinson is 22-0 and coming off a decision win over Alex Martin in March. McKinson has only finished two of his fights early, with 20 decisions to his credit.

Ortiz is a fairly sizable favorite to win the bout at DraftKings Sportsbook. He’s installed at -1800 while McKinson is +800. Total rounds is installed at 8.5 with the over at +100 and the under at -130. Ortiz is favored to win by stoppage at -320, with an Ortiz decision following at +320. McKinson is +1200 to win a decision and +2800 to win by stoppage.

We’ll be providing live round-by-round updates throughout the bout. We’ll score each round until a winner is determined.

Vergil Ortiz Jr. vs. Michael McKinson round-by-round results

Round 1: 10-9 Ortiz Jr.

Some wild throws from McKinson have left him unguarded at times, and Ortiz took an accidental head butt, but he also dominated the round walking down McKinson pretty easily. A straight right and a left to the body scored well. We might not be here long.

Round 2: 10-9 Ortiz Jr.

A more controlled round, but Ortiz still scored more effectively and fought at his pace. Instead of brawling, he’s scoring with 1-2 punches and getting out. Well done and an easy round.

Round 3: 10-9 Ortiz Jr.

The champion is coming forward constantly, and showing all angles with his offense and tremendous effective aggression. It’s a clinic so far, and will McKinson be another KO victim of Ortiz?

Round 4: 10-9 Ortiz Jr.

Slightly better from McKinson, but he’s still unable to establish the correct range. He’s also eating plenty of body shots from the constant work from Ortiz.

Round 5: 10-9 Ortiz

The power difference is staggering, as the body shots from Ortiz continue to take a toll. At some point they’re going add up and put McKinson in a spot where he’s going to be in trouble.

Round 6: 10-9 McKinson

A much better round from McKinson, who hit a couple body shots while Ortiz seemed to dial it down a bit. A couple counter lefts scored just well enough to steal the round.

Round 7: 10-9 Ortiz

Another closer round, but the body shots from Ortiz continue to score at a high rate. The energy from Ortiz is dialed down, and he seems content to take his time with a big lead on the cards here.

Round 8: 10-8 Ortiz (Knockdown)

A body shot to the liver by Ortiz puts McKinson on the canvas for the first time in his career with about 25 seconds left in the round. It was right on the button without much power, but it didn’t give Ortiz enough time to finish it.

Round 9: TKO VERGIL ORTIZ WINS AT :27

It looks like some combination of the lingering body shot and a leg injury to McKinson had his corner stop the fight with the towel. It was absolutely the right decision, as it was about to get bad. Ortiz barely threw a punch in the round, but the effects of the liver and leg were clearly visible.