Portsmouth’s Michael McKinson has been left frustrated by a lack of big fights since his sole professional defeat by Vergil Ortiz Jr in the summer of 2022.
The ‘Pompey Problem’ has 26 wins and just the one loss on his record, which came when he was stopped by Ortiz Jr.
“I feel like I belong at a different level to the people I fought in 2023,” McKinson told BBC Sport
The welterweight boxed three times, external last year against non-journeymen opponents, but won all three.
He has repeatedly expressed a desire to step in the ring with David Avanesyan, external from Armenia who has a 30-4 record as a professional.
“Domestically it’s lit up, you’ve got loads of good names but I don’t think I’m a domestic-level fighter,” said McKinson.
“David Avanesyan is the most dangerous man out there and that is the fight I want.
“When I stepped up to the world stage before, I didn’t look out of place, I was winning rounds against Ortiz.”
Avanesyan is a former European title holder and lost in 2022 to undefeated world champion Terence Crawford.
McKinson’s 2023 ring acitivity included a trip to Rome followed by two Chris Billam-Smith undercard fights, one of them at Premier League football club Bournemouth’s Vitality Stadium where Billam-Smith beat Lawrence Okolie.
The 29-year-old knocked out Sergio Dos Santos Carvalho and Lebin Morales before a unanimous decision victory over Musah Lawson in December.
Both Dos Santos Carvalho and Lawson had only fought in their respective home countries before flying abroad to take on and be outclassed by McKinson.
And 23 of Morales’ 27 professional bouts had taken place in his native Nicaragua, with only one previous fight in the UK.
None of the three came close to the level of Ortiz Jr, who is unbeaten and the current holder of the WBA gold welterweight title and well on his way to world title contention.
He remains the only blemish on McKinson’s record, a fight in which he injured his hip before the referee called a halt in the ninth round.
Having had the taste of a main event and a sold-out arena, the southpaw wants to experience the buzz again and have a chance to prove his worth on the big stage.
McKinson is not exclusively signed to any particular promotion but has fought on Boxxer cards previously and had a three-fight deal with Matchroom Boxing, the last being the fight with Ortiz Jr.
“I wish I had something more positive news I could share and be optimistic,” he added.
“Being honest there’s nothing going on at the moment, I’m full of frustration. I’ve had 27 professional fights and only the one defeat.”
