Michael McKinson is poised to keep alive his stateside debut.

BoxingScene.com has learned that Tijuana’s Jose Antonio ‘Ricky’ Perez Campos has been approved by the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) as a late replacement opponent to face England’s McKinson. Perez fills the void left behind when unbeaten welterweight contender Vergil Ortiz Jr. (18-0, 18KOs) was pulled from Saturday’s DAZN main event after being hospitalized earlier this week for rhabdomyolysis.

The new matchup also means a new main event for this weekend’s show, which airs live from USC Galen Center in Los Angeles. The new headliner will be the evening’s original co-feature bout between welterweight prospects Blair Cobbs (15-0-1, 10KOs) and Alexis Rocha (18-1, 12KOs). McKinson-Perez—once finalized—will serve as the evening’s chief support, though allowing McKinson to move forward with his first fight in the U.S. and not having to waste a trip.

Perez (24-3, 18KOs) has not fought since December 2019, when he claimed a confidence-restoring eight-round shutout win in his Tijuana hometown. The feat came two months after suffering his most recent defeat just two months prior, a ten-round decision at the hands of unbeaten Danielito Zorrilla (16-0, 12KOs) in his opponent’s home region of San Juan, Puerto Rico.

All three career defeats for Perez came in a span of five fights, though going the distance on each occasion and against credible competition. The rough patch preceded a career-best win, outpointing David Theroux via majority decision in December 2017 on the road in Sorel-Tracy, Quebec, Canada.

BoxingScene.com has confirmed that Perez’s approval by the CSAC came after at least three other suggested opponents were rejected, two of which were reportedly turned away due to concerns over being able to make the welterweight limit on such short notice. As reported Wednesday morning, former two-time junior lightweight titlist Juan Carlos Salgado was the most prominent name offered, but who is 37 and hasn’t fought in nearly four years. When active, Salgado suffered eight losses in nine fights and has never fought at welterweight.

There was also the suggestion that Cobbs (15-0-1, 10KOs) was offered but rejected as a new opponent for McKinson due to not wanting to face a southpaw, which BoxingScene.com erroneously reported based on misleading information and immediately corrected.

McKinson (21-0, 2KOs) fights for just the second time outside of England. His lone other road trip came in a March 2021 win over Chris Kongo in Gibraltar, one of three straight victories over unbeaten opposition for McKinson who is ranked number-three by the WBO.

McKinson was tabbed to face number-one ranked Ortiz in what would have established a mandatory challenger for WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford (38-0, 29KOs).

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox