Aaron McKenna has never boxed professionally in Ireland. His first time is for a world title.
McKenna faces Etinosa Oliha on Saturday at the 3Arena in Dublin for the vacant IBF middleweight championship. It is the first middleweight world title fight staged in Ireland in more than 30 years.
It’s something I’ve been dreaming of since I started boxing at six years old. Finally to get a fight for the world title and for it to be in Ireland makes it extra special.
20 years I’ve been boxing and it’s all going to come down to this night.
He is already past it. McKenna told Sky Sports he wants to be undisputed, then a champion at multiple weights, and he is not ruling out how far up he goes.
I’m 6ft 2, I can go all the way to heavyweight with my size. By the time my career’s over I’ll be fighting at heavyweight.
I want to clean up the middleweight division because it definitely is there to be cleaned up and just have the biggest fights possible.
One name keeps coming back. Chris Eubank Jr last boxed at middleweight and is expected to return at 168.
Try and get a win for the Eubank name. You had Eubank and Steve Collins, they fought in Cork on Sky Sports. So you never know. If he wants to run a similar story back we can do it in Ireland on Sky Sports again, just recreate history.
Collins beat Eubank Sr in Millstreet, County Cork, in 1995. It is still one of the biggest nights Irish boxing has had.
First he has to win. McKenna is 26 and 20-0 with 10 knockouts, unbeaten since turning professional and coming off a decision over former world champion Liam Smith. Oliha is 27 and 22-0 with 10, a former European champion who has beaten five unbeaten fighters already.
The belt is free because Janibek Alimkhanuly was stripped in March after testing positive for meldonium. The winner faces mandatory challenger Amari Jones next.
I know what I have to do. I’m more than ready for it.
Callum Walsh meets Tyler Denny in the co-feature. Zuffa Boxing 10, live on Sky Sports.
