Michael McKinson believes a win over Chris Kongo will confirm his status as a top welterweight contender and vows to seize the opportunity to earn a golden ticket.

McKinson (19-0, 2 KO) hopes to become the WBO world champion when he clashes with another undefeated Briton from Congo (12-0, 7 KO) on the undercard of Dillian Whyte’s key rematch with Alexander Povetkin on Saturday night in Gibraltar, live on Sky Sports Box Office in the UK and Ireland and DAZN worldwide.

‘The Problem’ has won all 19 of his professional fights and has long coveted a meeting with his domestic rival and is deeply confident he has beaten everyone in the country in a division that also features the likes of Conor Benn and Josh Kelly.

“It’s a great time to be among the substantial names in the domestic welterweight division,” Mckinson told proboxing-fans.com.

“But I believe beating Chris Kongo puts me at the top of that tree, like I believe he is at the top, but obviously there are some top guys here.

“But I think when I beat Chris Kongo, I proved that I’m definitely at the highest level.

“He is very lofty, very athletic, very robust and athletic, and on top of that he is a very good player.

“But when you look at it, there’s only one problem in this division, and that’s me. I’m a problem for absolutely everyone, and I truly believe that a well-prepared Michael McKinson beats them all in the country.”

“2 Slick” won the WBO world crown with a ninth-round victory over Luther Clay, a career-best win following Whyte’s first meeting with Povetkin in August.

The Londoner, who has won all 12 of his professional fights, sparred with the unified super lightweight world champion, Josh Taylor But as McKinson prepares for the fight, having scored three knockdowns en route to a unanimous decision victory over Martin Harkin in October, he believes his experience will prove crucial.

“I have experience fighting him in the professional ring,” said the 26-year-old.

“If you look at it, my last five opponents have a combined record of 72 wins and three losses. People don’t give enough credit to my record.

“He fought 11 nobody and Luther Clay, so if you want to compare records, I win all day long.

“I am experienced enough to know that I will win without a shadow of a doubt.

“I put in the work. Whatever he wants to bring, let him bring it. If he wants to go through me, let him, he won’t. He definitely won’t.”

The player from Portsmouth is managed by MTK Global and is fighting for the first time on a Matchroom bill.

McKinson is ranked No. 6 by the WBO, chasing WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford, and says a win could solidify his position on that kind of platform.

“Beating Chris Kongo is my golden ticket.

“I’m not fighting him, I have to beat him, and beating him is my golden ticket and that will be the platform on which I have to push my career.

“This is my seventh year in my professional career. It took me 20 fights to get to this stage.

“It’s been a long and tough road, but we’re finally here. Beating him is my golden ticket to staying here.

Watch the full interview with Michael McKinson below:

Campbell Hatton was just four years vintage when his father, Ricky, had a special night in his career, taking the IBF welterweight crown from Kostya Tsyzu on a memorable evening at the Manchester Arena in June 2005.

Nearly 16 years later, Hatton is set to follow in the footsteps of his father and uncle by starting his professional career on Saturday, witnessing Dillian Whyte’s rematch with Alexander Povektin in Gibraltar.

Campbell, who fights in the super featherweight division, had a low but successful amateur career, winning 21 of his 31 fights and winning the National Novice title and two North West titles.

Anticipation for the 20-year-old to make his first bow has been building since he joined Eddie Hearn at Matchroom Boxing in December and while he admits the pressure will be on his shoulders, he admits it is nothing up-to-date for him.

“There’s a little more expectation and pressure.” Hatton told professional boxing fans in December.

“But I’ve had this happen to me as an amateur, on a smaller scale, of course. When I was boxing, the gym would fill up and everything would go tranquil, everyone would watch.

“So it will be similar, just a little bit more, but I have always been good under pressure, I have always been good at dealing with it, it really drives me.

“When I get in the ring with anyone, they work harder than anyone else, so I have to do the same.”

Both Hatton’s father and manager, Ricky, and uncle and trainer, Matthew, have both never been afraid to take on the best throughout their careers, having had no less than three record-breaking superstars on their resumes, including Floyd Mayweather Jr, Manny’ respectively Pacquiao and Canelo Alvarez’s egos.

Ricky in particular transcended the sport in the early 2000s in a way rarely seen since, taking thousands of true fans to Las Vegas, fighting for his beloved Manchester City and securing his legacy as one of the most popular British fighters of all time. time.

Despite the accolades, ‘Hurricane’ says he is determined to eventually carve out a reputation of his own, much like Chris Eubank Jr and Conor Benn, who were subject to similar publicity when they turned professional.

“Definitely,” Hatton replied when asked about settling on his own name.

“If only we had seen it early, heh [Conor Benn] he had the same kind of pressure, the same target on his back and a lot of high expectations that came with being Nigel Benn’s son.

“He had some critics, but he didn’t leave the gym. He just keeps working and he’s a top player now, he’s Conor Benn, not Nigel Benn’s son, and I want to be in the same position.

“I want to be known as Campbell Hatton, not Ricky Hatton’s boyfriend. So I hope I can do that in the near future.”

I stuck it to him from day one 😂👊🏻 @HitmanHatton #TBT pic.twitter.com/ePZ1Nsa81w

— Campbell Hatton (@CampbellHatton) March 18, 2021

In his heyday, “Hitman” was praised by his supporters for his tenacity and aggressive style, which helped him become a two-time world champion.

Despite the emotion it evoked, the style has often been scrutinized for making him vulnerable, and while Campbell intends to employ a similar, fan-friendly technique, he insists there will be some differences compared to his dad.

“Definitely electrifying,” Campbell said of his style.

“We’ve heard a lot of similarities. A punch to the body, [I] step forward [I’m] aggressive.

“But I also like to think a lot and box a lot. I play a bit of a middle-ranger than my dad because I have long arms for my height, so I like a bit of space where I can pick my shots and think about different things.

Hatton has added Anthony Joshua’s 258 Management to his team and was able to spend some time with the unified heavyweight champion at his base in Finchley earlier this month.

Campbell clearly has all the resources at his disposal to succeed in the paid ranks and will begin his journey against Jesus Ruiz on Saturday looking to break out onto the biggest stage.

Campbell has lived up to expectations so far and could take the next step on the path to success in what could be another electrifying career at Hatton and a prospect his father is relishing.

“I don’t think it will disappoint,” Ricky Hatton told Matchroom Boxing.

“He is still youthful and still has a long way to go. I think people will love his personality, he’s a chip off the vintage block. Fans will love his fighting style.

I think people will take it to heart like they did with me.

“He has a great team behind him with Matchroom and Eddie, and Matthew and I look after him in the gym. He has a heart as large as his dad. He has the talent and ability to be a real force and success story in the game.”

Hatton will face Ruiz on Saturday in the Povetkin-Whyte II bill. Broadcast live on Sky Sports Box Office in the UK and Ireland and on DAZN in 200 countries.

Dillian Whyte has reached a level he has never reached before and his co-trainer Harold Knight believes the crowd will be surprised by his performance against Alexander Povetkin.

Why He will finally get his chance for revenge in Gibraltar on Saturday night when he faces Povetkin live on Sky Sports Box Office in the UK and on DAZN in over 200 countries, seven months after a devastating fifth-round defeat at Matchroom HQ.

The Briton, who was one win away from winning the WBC world title against Tyson Fury after more than 1,000 days of waiting, knocked down the experienced Russian twice in the fourth round before his hopes were dashed by a terrible uppercut in the fifth.

After two postponements due to “Sasha” testing positive for Covid-19 and a travel restriction that forced him to reschedule for March 6, “The Body Snatcher” could regain his interim WBC heavyweight title with a win and move closer to a world title shot.

The 32-year-old has joined Lennox Lewis’ former co-trainer Harold ‘Shadow’ Knight to work alongside head coach Xavier Miller, and the American claims the pair have learnt a lot from each other.

“We think pretty much the same way,” Knight said. proboxing-fans.com.

“Of course, Xavier did not have the same experience at the World Championships that I was fortunate to have, being under the guidance of great coaches and teachers.

“The tardy great Emanuel Steward, the tardy great John Davenport who was Lennox Lewis’ first professional coach, Pepe Correa who was Sugar Ray Leonard’s coach, so we more or less compliment each other because Xavier is a student of the game, he studies a lot.

“Once again, I learned some things from him and I’m sure he learned something from me, so we more or less work together and lend a hand each other, learning from each other.

I’ve been playing this game for a long time, but anyone who claims to know everything is a damn lie.

“I’m always willing to learn, and the most significant thing is that we leave egos at the door and our goal is to make Dillian better because he is the one in the ring throwing and taking punches, not us.

“I’m here and he’s here to lend a hand and win. We are here to win.”

Whyte made no excuses for his defeat Povetkinwhich ended an 11-fight winning streak since his only career loss to Anthony Joshua in 2015, even counting Heavenly sports this week: “If you fight the good guys one by one, you will get knocked down and you will lose. It `s just the way it is.”

During Knight’s 13-year association with Lewis, who became undisputed heavyweight champion in 1999, “The Lion” suffered back-to-back shock defeats to Oliver McCall and Hasim Rahman, both of which he avenged, and the veteran trainer sees similarities between the pair in terms of their character and mindset.

“In that respect, the similarities are essentially the same,” Knight added.

“Because when Lennox got knocked out, he didn’t make any excuses, he didn’t blame anyone or anything like that. He stood up, dusted himself off and said, “Hey, I’m going to work on what I need to work on because I know what a mistake I made.” Dillian said the same thing.

“He took a shot, yeah, he knocked me out, but you know, hey, I want to exercise my rematch clause and hey, you know what, I have to up my game, I have to up my weaponry, even if that means bringing in someone else to lend a hand me on the technical side, to lend a hand me see some things that I haven’t seen before.

“Or just another pair of eyes added to Xavier’s that will be able to more or less tell him about the boxing aspect of it, so same similarities.”

The immediate path to a world title fight should Whyte win appears unclear for unified champion Joshua and WBC champion Fury, who is scheduled to meet later this year on a two-fight deal.

Former world champion Povetkin said earlier this week on a Zoom conference call that he did not believe Whyte would change much since their first meeting, but Knight insists his players have reached a level he has not yet reached, one that he expects will be ready for another tough challenge.

“Dillian has a ceiling he hasn’t reached yet.

“I feel like considering he only has eight amateur fights and obviously 29-30 professional fights, it takes a little longer for heavyweights to mature.

“When I came on board, I noticed that Dillian is a really damn good boxer. He can really box, his IQ is off the charts. He knows boxing, he doesn’t just box, we’re talking about a lot of other boxers, whether they’re lightweights, heavyweights, old-school boxers.

“So Dillian still has a ceiling to reach, he still has levels to overcome, I feel like that, so I just feel like we have more upside in this second fight than Povetkin because Dillian is a few inches taller and he has a few inches he has more reach, he hits a little harder, even though Povetkin hits demanding too.

“But Povektin has one style. He’ll come in, he’ll punch you in the face and chest all day long, and Dillian obviously is a fighter, he can punch, but I feel like he has a few more weapons that he’s never used, but he has them, but he’s never used them.

“Don’t get me wrong, it’s going to be a really tough fight because Povetkin looks really good, he’s in really good shape and it’s his last fight.

“It’s high stakes for both players, everything is on the line for us, everything is on the line for him. A lot of people from all over the world will really watch this fight.”

The Brixton fighter was criticised in some quarters for failing to finish the job after Povetkin was injured in the fourth round, with Joshua questioning his finishing instincts.

Knight worked with the tardy, great Emanuel Steward, who formulated his notable Kronka style of boxing, based on aggression and an emphasis on securing knockouts.

Knight, a one-time world title challenger, insists Whyte will surprise people and says the plan is to stop Povetkin if the opportunity arises.

“You can expect that we are working to make Dillian smarter.

“When you see that shark-like blood, you’ll take him out of there. We won’t wait.

“But to be smarter and outsmart him, Dillian is stronger. Like I said, to outsmart him and speed him up.

“Being able to strike when he wants to, but also being able to stay focused, being able to keep his hands up, being able to exploit that jab, being able to improvise that jab, using the feints, being able to exploit a boxing repertoire that he hasn’t used in his previous fights.

“In addition to working on his defense, we worked a lot on his defense.

“So you can expect a lot of different things, a lot of people will be surprised, believe me.”