Aaron McKenna claimed the vacant IBF World Middleweight title with a unanimous decision victory over unbeaten Italian contender Etinosa Oliha at the 3Arena, Dublin on Saturday night.
Co Monaghan’s McKenna (now 21-0) became only the third active boxing world champion on the island of Ireland, joining Katie Taylor and Belfast featherweight Anthony Cacace in that elite group.
“The Silencer” dominated much of the fight with his jab, but there was plenty of fighting in the clinch in a tough and tactical affair that showed many facets of McKenna’s well-rounded skillset.
The fight got off to a slow start, with McKenna fighting on the outside using his height and reach advantages, while Oliha (now 22-1) looked to land some heavy shots.
READ MORE
The fight opened up in the third round, with McKenna landing a wider variety of punches and starting to take control of the action at close range.
That pattern continued throughout the middle rounds of the fight, and although Oliha was making it difficult for McKenna to find any big power punches, he was struggling to land much work of his own, and the consistent activity from the Monaghan man was banking rounds.
Oliha came out for the eighth round on the front foot, trying to change the rhythm of the fight, but McKenna showed his skills on the backfoot, continually finding the target with his jab.
McKenna landed his best shots during these final rounds, as his opponent became increasingly desperate to land a knockout punch and cause the upset.
The Monaghan-dominated 3Arena created major noise throughout the final round, roaring their man home to victory. All three judges awarded McKenna the win by comfortable margins; 118-110, 117-111, and 116-112.
In the co-main event, Cork’s Callum Walsh (now 17-1) claimed a wide decision win over former European champion Tyler Denny (21-5-3) of England, with both fighters shipping early knockdowns.
Walsh looked to have made a solid start in the first, but suffered an unusual late knockdown. Walsh expected the referee to break the pair after Denny leant his weight on him in the clinch, but instead Denny followed up with two punches to knock down the home fighter.
Walsh responded with a knockdown of his own in the second, a brilliant left-hand counter, and seemed to have his man hurt later in the round, but failed to add the finishing touch.
The fight settled after that session, with Walsh showing good hand speed while fighting mostly on the backfoot, and Denny pouring pressure on the Irish fighter.
The referee warned both fighters for fouling, eventually docking a point from the pair in the one go; Walsh for holding and Denny for hitting behind the head. Walsh may have been the benefactor though, landing a vicious combination as soon as the referee called for the fighters to resume.
A bad cut on the right eye late in the contest did not cause Walsh major difficulties, as he won on scores of 98-91, 98-91 and 96-90.
Irish amateur great Joe Ward (now 13-1) gutted his way to a decision victory in a war of attrition against previously unbeaten Artjom Kasparian (14-1) in their light-heavyweight 10-rounder.
The fight started brightly for Ward, who was able to land the more crisp, eye-catching shots, but his energy suddenly sagged in the middle of the fourth round, and Kasparian pinned the Co Westmeath man to the ropes for the remainder of that session.
Incredibly, the seemingly exhausted Ward bounced back in the fifth, stunning Kasparian with a straight left early on, and then hurting him with the left uppercut later in that round.
The fight resumed in a more stable pattern, with Kasparian the more active and energetic boxer, but Ward landing the telling punches, roared on by the Irish crowd.
The three-time world amateur medallist finished strongly, winning the last two rounds clearly and earned a unanimous decision with scores of 97-93, 97-93, and 96-94.
Stevie McKenna (17-1), Aaron’s brother, called out Callum Walsh after securing a first-round knockout early on the undercard, the 16th stoppage of his career.
This was the first show in Ireland for promotional newcomers Zuffa Boxing, and their promoter and UFC president Dana White was in attendance at ringside for the action.
