Welterweights Alex Rocha and unbeaten Blair Cobbs traded insults at Thursday’s press conference, and if their skillsets can match their verbal jabs, fans will be in for a treat Saturday night.

Rocha and Cobbs will square off at the Galen Center in Los Angeles, with the winner taking a legit step forward toward contender status. The 10-round bout will stream live on DAZN (9 p.m. ET/ 6 p.m. PT).

The fight was elevated to main event status after Vergil Ortiz pulled out of his clash against unbeaten Michael McKinson due to being hospitalized earlier this week with Rhabdomyolysis, which occurs when there is a breakdown of muscle tissue that releases a damaging protein into the blood. Symptoms include dark, reddish urine, a decreased amount of urine, and muscle aches.

Cobbs offered to step in for Ortiz, even recording a message to McKinson that appeared on his Instagram page. That did not sit well with Rocha, who was more vocal than usual at Thursday’s press conference. A typical question and answer session with host Beto Duran turned into a back-and-forth war of words between Rocha and Cobbs.

“The fight was presented to him last November and we didn’t fight,” said Rocha. “It wasn’t my fault. (Ferdinand) Kerobyan (in March 2019) was your only notable win.

“You’re acting like a clown here and there. Let’s remember, Blair, just like there’s clowns in the circus, there’s also lions and tigers there too. Remember this face. You’re one fight from the commentary booth. You’ll be announcing my fights after this.”

Rocha is the younger brother of former world title challenger and current junior featherweight contender Ronny Rios.

True to his colorful persona, Cobbs gave a very animated response.

“There was no fight offered to me last November,” said Cobbs. “Am I the kind of person to turn down fights? Does Blair the Flair look like he gives a shit? I don’t think so. I actually wanted that fight in November but we couldn’t make it happen. Finally, we made it happen. I did not hesitate to sign this contract. Then we waited for Alexis to sign.

“I’m looking for bigger and better fights. McKinson? I have nothing but respect. Me and him are cut from the same cloth. Underdogs fighting big fights; undefeated fighters in the fire. I am so good at it. When I pot these young fighters in the fire with me, they seem to not look the same. [Rocha has] only been tested one time, against Brad Solomon, and he almost lost. What happened when Solomon fought me with more than two months of training? We got the job done in the fifth round.”

Both fighters then posed for the traditional face-off, continuing their war of words before being pulled away from each other.

Cobbs (15-0-1, 10 knockouts), who resides in Las Vegas, stopped Solomon in his last bout, on June 19.

Rocha (18-1, 12 KOs) knocked out Colombia’s Jeovanis Barraza in the ninth round of his last bout, on November 13, in Anaheim, California, close to his hometown of Santa Ana. He has won his last two bouts since losing to unbeaten Rashidi Ellis in October 2020.

“I actually want to thank Cobbs and Rocha for stepping up to fight in the main event,” said Oscar De La Hoya, Chairman and CEO of Golden Boy Promotions. “It’s an exciting fight.”

Francisco A. Salazar can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter @FSalazarBoxing

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