Former two-time Mexican super featherweight world title holder Juan Carlos Salgado is a prime candidate to replace his last opponent almost four years ago to face the Englishman Michael Mackinson. The need for such a replacement arose after Virgil Ortiz Jr. (18-0, 18 KOs) was forced to pull out of the DAZN fight on March 19 after being hospitalized on Monday due to rhabdomyolysis.
Salgado is currently undergoing a medical examination at the California State Athletic Commission. His candidacy for this reason, as well as for a number of other factors, has not yet been confirmed.
The welterweight bout between Blair Cobbs (15-0-1, 10 KOs) and Alexis Rocha (18-1, 12 KOs) is currently the main event of the undercard, and both have also been cited as substitution opportunities for McKinson (21-0, 2 KO). Cobbs was officially proposed as an opponent for the Brit, but McKinson's team rejected him, citing the fact that he is left-handed. McKinson, Cobbs and Rocha are left-handers, and McKinson himself was training for right-handed Ortiz.
This is the main, if not the only, factor in trying to enlist the services of Salgado (27-9-1, 16KOs), who is close in size to Ortiz. However, Salgado did not fight for almost four years when, ironically, he last lost to Ortiz by knockout in the third round. Salgado is 37 and has never fought at welterweight in his 15 year pro career. This issue is also currently being considered by the California Commission.
