One of Great Britain’s most promising welterweights, Michael “The Problem” McKinson, is ready to conquer Europe. McKinson, a native of Portsmouth, England, will take on Russian veteran Evgeny Pavko in a 10-rounder for the vacant WBO European welterweight title on the latest edition of #MTKFightNight Saturday, July 20 from the Brentwood Centre in Brentwood, England.

McKinson-Pavko will headline a scheduled four-bout card that will stream live on ESPN+ — the industry-leading sports streaming service — beginning at 3 p.m. ET/12 p.m. PT.

“This is a good bout,” McKinson said. “Nobody in Britain wanted to fight me, so we’ve had to go the harder route and take on a dangerous Russian.”

McKinson (16-0, 2 KOs), a slick southpaw, is taking a step up in competition after winning both the WBC Youth and WBC International silver welterweight belts in less than five years as a professional. He last fought March 9 at the Brentwood Centre, outboxing Ryan Kelly over 10 rounds. Pavko (18-2-1, 13 KOs), from Kopeysk, Russia, is 2-0 since moving up from the super lightweight division. Unbeaten in three career fights outside of Russia, Pavko has not fought in seven months. Last December, he stopped the previously undefeated Fedor Vinogradov on cuts following the fifth round.

In other action scheduled for ESPN+:
Rising British welterweight prospect Shaquille “The Black Mexican” Day (12-0, 2 KOs) will fight countryman Louis Adolphe (10-1, 1 KO) in a 10-rounder for the vacant British Southern Area welterweight strap. Day has knocked out two of his last three opponents.

Former amateur star Chantelle Cameron (10-0, 7 KOs) will make her third ring appearance of 2019 versus Anisha Basheel (8-5, 8 KOs) in a 10-round WBC world title lightweight eliminator for the belt currently held by undisputed world champion Katie Taylor. Basheel has won eight straight fights by knockout since beginning her career 0-5 and is coming off a first-round stoppage over Sam “SJ” Smith for the vacant Commonwealth female lightweight title.
Thomas Patrick Ward (26-0, 4 KOs) will look to notch his second win of the year against Brayan Mairena (10-12-1, 4 KOs) in an eight-round featherweight tilt.

Fans can sign-up for ESPN+ at any time at ESPNPlus.com, ESPN.com or on the ESPN App for $4.99 per month or $49.99 per year.

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Welterweight Michael McKinson will look to add the WBO European crown when he takes on Evgeny Pavko.

Undefeated McKinson (16-0, 2 KOs) will clash with hard-hitting Russian Pavko (18-2-1, 13 KOs) on the #MTKFightNight at the Brentwood Centre on July 20 – live on ESPN+ in association with Top Rank and on iFL TV.

Having been unable to entice the big domestic names at 147lb to step in the ring with him, McKinson is delighted to be graduating to European level.

McKinson said: “This is a good bout. Nobody in Britain wanted to fight me so we’ve had to go the harder route and take on a dangerous Russian.

“I’ve always said I’ll fight anyone and while Pavko is a dangerous opponent, I believe in my ability and I’m going to show everyone – once again – that I’m not here to play games.

“I wouldn’t be a good fighter or a good champion if I had easy fights. I actually prefer these tough challenges so I’m excited by this.

“It’s about time I had a third belt to add to my collection. I’ve defended the WBC International Silver twice now against proper opponents so I wanted a new challenge and MTK Global has delivered.”

McKinson’s last performance was a 10-round schooling of the heavy-handed Ryan Kelly at the same venue back in March.

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