McKenna 'counting down days' to world title shot

Thu, August 6, 2026 at 10:11 AM UTC

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Aaron McKenna's record as a professional is 20-0

Aaron McKenna hopes his long-anticipated first professional boxing fight on Irish soil will end up with a world title belt around his waist and propel him to even greater heights in the sport.

The Monaghan native will take on 28-year-old Italian Etinosa Oliha for the IBF world middleweight title at the 3Arena in Dublin on Saturday as he aims to extend his perfect 20-0 record in the paid ranks.

The 27-year-old turned pro at the tender age of 18 but his first 10 fights took place in the USA, with the remainder in England, bar one contest in Japan.

"I've been counting down the days since this fight was made to fight for a world title in front of the Irish fans for the first time, on a main event, and my brother [Stephen] on the card as well," said McKenna in an interview with BBC Sport NI's Thomas Kane.

"It's something dreams are made of. You couldn't make this up. I've been dreaming about this moment for a long time and I'm going to make it worthwhile.

"I've been doing this for 21 years and I'm confident in my ability. I know what I'm capable of."

McKenna appears unfazed by the prospect of fighting for a world title in front of a large and supportive, but expectant, Irish crowd.

"Nerves aren't going to do anything for you and I know what I'm going to do on fight night.

"I've seen every style there is to see and nothing has really fazed me. It's something that has battle hardened me.

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"I've treated every fight like it is a world title fight and now it is for a world title. I'm going into this with full ambition of becoming a world champion and I will do that.

"I've been pro for nine years and this is the first chance I've had to fight in Ireland. I want to be the guy to really take over in Irish boxing."

St Tiernach's Park bout a long-held ambition

McKenna hopes this weekend's bill will be the first of many in front of Irish boxing fans.

"Once this night happens and people see the atmosphere created by the Irish people I think it's going to happen a lot more.

"Ireland hasn't really produced many world champions over the years so I want to be one of the names added to that list.

"I'm just going to remember all the years of hard work, all the sacrifices, and what it meant to me and put [that] into the ring on Saturday night."

As a Monaghan man, McKenna's ultimate ambition would be to be part of a big fight night at St Tiernach's Park in Clones, home of Gaelic Games in the Farney county and regular host stadium for the Ulster Senior Football Championship final.

"St Tiernach's Park is something I've always talked about for years and winning [on Saturday night] would put me in a very good position to do that.

"I always said in order to fight at St Tiernach's Park I'd have to win the title first so I do think it's very possible in the future.

"You look at the Ulster finals that are on there every year, it's brilliant. The streets are packed and the fans love it but to get to experience it in a boxing context it would be even better I think."

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Source: “AOL Sports”