Aaron McKenna weighed in successfully for his IBF middleweight title fight against Etinosa Oliha at the 3Arena in Dublin on Friday. Both fighters came in under the 160-pound middleweight limit at the weigh-in, with McKenna scaling 159.6 pounds and Oliha weighing 159.1 pounds. The bout leads the Zuffa Boxing 10 card on Saturday, which will be broadcast live on Sky Sports.
McKenna possesses a tall frame that he claims could one day carry him up to heavyweight, but he comfortably made weight on Friday. The pair shared a tense face-off ahead of the fight, following an intense stare-off earlier in fight week. They engaged in a final fierce face-off during Friday night's ceremonial weigh-in at the venue.
McKenna proved his world-class credentials last year with a victory over former WBO 154-pound champion Liam Smith. He aims to prove his quality again against Oliha and become the first middleweight world champion from Ireland since Andy Lee.
"It did definitely open a lot of eyes, my last fight [against Smith], because of the fashion I did it in, it was a really dominant fight in my favour," McKenna told Sky Sports. "To fight a former world champion in Liam Smith was a massive name to have on my record. A lot of people were predicting me to lose. So that was another bonus, once I beat him in the fashion I did, it opened a lot of eyes and really got my name out there."
McKenna added that he entered that bout as an underdog. "Going into that fight I was the underdog and not many people gave me a chance," McKenna said. "But I knew that was my time to really show the world how good of a boxer I am. Not many people expected me to have that style but I've been saying it for years, of how good of a boxer I am. Now's another chance to really shine again."
Middleweight Division Ambitions
McKenna is determined to expand his success if he claims the vacant championship on Saturday. "Once I become world champion I'm going to take over the division," McKenna said. "I want to clean up the division. The 160lbs division is there to be cleaned up. So I want to become undisputed and then become a multiple-weight world champion."
He expressed a willingness to move up in weight if necessary to secure major bouts. "I want the biggest and best fights, I want to take on guys with undefeated records, or guys who are world champions and prove to myself I'm the best in the world," McKenna said. "If I can't get the champions at 160lbs, I'll take them on at 168lbs, it doesn't matter to me. I'll take care of business on Saturday first."
On the undercard, Callum Walsh meets former European champion Tyler Denny in what is described as a dangerous test. Walsh, who has spent much of his previous career at super-welterweight, hit the middleweight limit of 160 pounds exactly. Denny weighed 159.7 pounds and expressed confidence that he can produce an upset in Dublin.
"It's going to be unbelievable," Walsh told Sky Sports. "It's going to be a great card the whole way through. The buzz is going to be high. Quick fights, good fights back to back and keep the buzz going and by the time I come out it's going to be unbelievable in there. We can continue to show that Ireland does produce some of the best fighters in the world."
Undercard Matchups and Weights
Light-heavyweight contender Joe Ward aims to establish himself in professional boxing against unbeaten puncher Artjom Kasparian. Ward registered 174.08 pounds at the weigh-in, while Kasparian scaled 174.2 pounds. Ward expressed confidence that he will stop Kasparian during Saturday's card.
Top Scottish prospect Sam Hickey, noted as a showman, makes his appearance in a contracted 162-pound bout against Brad Axe. Both Hickey and Axe weighed 161.3 pounds. In another middleweight contest, Louis Greene weighed 159.4 pounds while Daniel Bucuic came in at 158.4 pounds.
The undercard stream begins at 5pm on Saturday. American cruiserweight prospect Patrick O'Connor, who has Irish roots, opens the show weighing 200.5 pounds against Spanish fighter Juan Manuel Moriel, who carries a 6-1 record and weighed 191 pounds 2 ounces.
Derry middleweight Connor Coyle scaled 158.8 pounds for his matchup with American Mark Beuke, who weighed 159.6 pounds. Coyle aims to launch himself into contention among the top fighters in the middleweight division.
Promoter Reactions and Future Bouts
Stevie McKenna, brother of Aaron McKenna, weighed 159.7 pounds for his fight against former sparring partner Owen O'Neill, who scaled 158.5 pounds. Stevie McKenna is determined to set up an all-Ireland matchup against Callum Walsh if both fighters emerge victorious on Saturday.
Zuffa Boxing promoter Dana White praised the main event matchup between McKenna and Oliha. "Unbeaten records on the line, fights that actually really mean something," White told Sky Sports. "Once a guy gets into the top five and you look at the opponents he's fought and he's been through the gauntlet of the toughest guys in the division and then he becomes a world champion, then he is the world champion. You know who the champ is, you saw him fight everybody on the way up and that's what fight fans want to see."
White also noted the potential for a future showdown between Aaron McKenna and Callum Walsh. "Anything's possible. I don't ever make predictions before the fight because you don't know how the fight's going to play out," White said. "Reality is better than any script you could have written. What you do is you let reality play out. You have to let this stuff this play out and that's how stars end up being built."
All fighters experienced the 3Arena crowd atmosphere during Friday's ceremonial weigh-in ahead of the event. "It should be crazy on Saturday night," White said. "The match-making's incredible and on paper you know how a fight looks and how it feels and how it should play out. Hopefully that's the case when they get in there. That's what we've got on Saturday night."
