Irish middleweight Aaron McKenna fights Etinosa Oliha for the IBF world middleweight championship at the 3Arena in Dublin on Saturday. The bout headlines Zuffa Boxing 10 and will be broadcast live on Sky Sports.
McKenna enters the contest with plans that extend far beyond winning his first world title. The Dublin headliner intends to unify the 160-pound division before moving up through weight classes and ending his career in the heavyweight division.
Standing six foot three, the tall middleweight believes his body structure can easily handle the additional weight as he moves up. McKenna outlined a step-by-step progression through the divisions after completing his work at middleweight.
"That's something we talked about a lot, finishing up at heavyweight. I'm six foot three now and I have a very long reach as well. My body's the type of body that could fill out easily enough as well weight-wise," McKenna told Sky Sports.
"Once I'm done at 160lb, take over 168 and then 175. But by the time I finish out, I plan to have at least one fight at heavyweight," he added.
McKenna expressed confidence that modern heavyweights can be beaten with sharp movement. "In the heavyweight division now, sometimes it just takes good footwork and boxing to beat them. It's different from the heavyweights back in the day," McKenna said.
IBF middleweight title fight
Before pursuing higher weight classes, McKenna must first defeat Oliha in front of his home fans in Dublin. Oliha comes into the world title fight with an undefeated professional record of 22-0.
"He's a very good fighter, 22-0, strong, he'll be game and any man that's fighting for world titles is going to be giving it their all," McKenna said of Oliha. "I know what I have to do."
The Irish challenger insisted that he has prepared for any tactics Oliha might bring into the ring. Sky Sports reporter Andy Scott interviewed McKenna ahead of the championship clash.
"I'm more than ready for it," McKenna said. "It doesn't matter what he brings, whether he comes forward, whether he goes back, I'm ready for everything. I've trained for every style possible my whole life. Whatever he brings, I'm just focused on what I'm doing and what I'm going to do in there."
Middleweight unification plans
McKenna claims he is the best middleweight in the world and wants to revitalize a division that he feels has lacked excitement in recent years. He pointed to former champions Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin as the last major stars in the class.
"The middleweight division, it's been dying for years now. The last two big fighters in it were Canelo and GGG, so I kind of want to bring big-time boxing in the middleweight division and bring it back to life," McKenna declared.
His post-fight target list includes WBC middleweight champion Carlos Adames and new WBO belt-holder Denzel Bentley. McKenna previously sparred with Adames at Robert Garcia's gym in 2019, when McKenna was 19 years old and Adames was in his mid-20s.
"I've done a lot of sparring with [Adames] back in Robert Garcia's gym back in 2019. I was 19 at the time and he was mid-20s. I had no problem with him," McKenna said. "He doesn't like my style of fighting. When you put it on him, he kind of doesn't like that sort of stuff."
McKenna also welcomed a potential showdown with Bentley to consolidate the division's titles. "[Bentley] would be another good fight. He's a world champion now, so if he wants to take the fight, I'd definitely take it because the name of the game is to unify, become the best in the division," McKenna said.
Despite his future ambitions, McKenna emphasized that his immediate focus remains on Saturday night. "But all I'm focused on right now is this Saturday. I have a job to do with Oliha and that's becoming world champion and I will become world champion," he said.
Future fights and manager comments
McKenna's manager Mike Borao stressed that victory on Saturday is essential before any future fights can take place. However, Borao acknowledged that a clash with Bentley represents an exciting option for the team.
"Obviously the focus right now is squarely on this Saturday for Aaron McKenna: he has to get past Etinosa Oliha first before anyone starts mapping out the future," Borao told Sky Sports.
"That said, Denzel Bentley is a very intriguing possibility. Aaron is the type of fighter who goes out there and delivers for the fans, and few things light up a boxing crowd quite like a proper Ireland vs UK showdown," Borao added.
Any match with Bentley must account for mandatory obligations. Bentley faces a mandatory defense against Yoenli Hernandez, which could affect scheduling.
"Bentley does have a tough mandatory in Yoenli Hernandez waiting in the wings, though, so it will be interesting to see how things develop," Borao said. "In any event, Aaron McKenna has a very exciting future with endless possibilities on Zuffa Boxing."
Off the canvas, McKenna has built unique connections outside of boxing. He maintains an unlikely friendship with music star Kendrick Lamar, whom he met during a training session alongside his brother.
