Adames disputes McKenna’s account and insists the Irishman’s team did not respond with the same confidence once his representatives reached out.
“My team reached out to McKenna team and guess the sparring didn’t go like he said. They’re scared as well!” Adames stated on X.
The accusation pressures McKenna to demonstrate that his callout was serious. Discussing old sparring sessions attracts attention, but McKenna now has a championship belt and a reason to pursue Adames.
What happened in the gym in 2019 cannot settle the argument. McKenna remembers those sessions one way, while Adames (25-1-1, 18 KOs) clearly remembers them differently. Unless footage exists, neither account can be verified.
A unification with McKenna, 27, is not the fight many fans want from Adames. Social media responses have pushed him toward Vergil Ortiz Jr. or WBA champion Erislandy Lara instead.
Ortiz would bring more attention and present Adames with a dangerous offensive fighter who applies pressure, punches hard, and has already operated at a higher competitive level than McKenna. Beating Ortiz would do far more for Adames’ reputation than winning an argument about sparring conducted seven years ago.
Lara would offer another unification and the opportunity to face one of the division’s most accomplished champions. His age makes him a less imposing opponent than he was several years ago, but his timing, left hand, and counterpunching would still test Adames.
McKenna (21-0, 10 KOs) remains a legitimate option because he owns the IBF title. However, his limited recognition outside Britain and Ireland makes the matchup harder to sell without the sparring story. Adames can collect another belt by defeating him, but Ortiz and Lara would attract greater interest.
If McKenna wants the fight, his team can respond to Adames and begin negotiations. If not, Adames has more appealing names available than continuing a dispute over private gym rounds from 2019.
