For Aaron McKenna, this weekend’s bout in Dublin for the IBF middleweight title is the culmination of one chapter and the start of another.
When he was just 16, Aaron, his dad Fergal and fighting brother Stephen travelled to America to follow their boxing dreams, and those dreams have led back to Ireland’s 3Arena on Saturday.
It is there that McKenna faces Italy’s undefeated Etinosa Oliha for a title that would mean so much to the Irishman.
“It means everything, like becoming world champion,” he said of his chance to claim the IBF belt on Zuffa Boxing’s debut Irish show. “It’s what I’ve been dreaming of my whole life and we’re only a few days away from it and it’s all starting to become real now. I’ve been saying for years I want to become world champion and I want the biggest fights. So now I’ve finally got the opportunity to do it in front of the Irish fans in my own backyard. It’s what dreams are made of and I’m going to make sure I’m world champion come Saturday night.”
While McKenna is only 28, he could have arrived here faster had he been able to capitalise on his impressive victory over Liverpool veteran Liam Smith last April.
Instead, he’s been frustrated by inactivity and missed out on the chance to face Carlos Adames in New York in January when Adames was instead paired with Austin “Ammo” Williams.
Sitting out for so long was not part of McKenna’s strategy.
“It’s crazy. That’s why I’m in a great position now with Zuffa Boxing and Dana White and Nick Khan,” he added. “They’re very smart people. And I believe Zuffa’s taking over boxing – they already are. And the future’s very bright for me. I’m going to get regular fights and big fights like I’ve been calling for. And I want big, massive 50-50 fights. Fights that are going to give me the recognition I deserve. And you’ve seen the last fight [against Smith], how good that went for me. I’ve been calling for fights like that for years, and I finally got it and it nearly made it harder for me to get fights because it went so well. I’m in a great position now with Zuffa.”
To that end, what has gone before does not matter because this is the start for McKenna.
“I’m always locked in and focused on the fight that’s ahead of me,” he said.
“And since the fight last year, I’ve been in the gym ever since. I haven’t missed a day of training. I’ve been in great shape since May last year and I’ve gotten good sparring. I went to Vegas in April and May and got great training. And then this last while, I’ve had great sparring over in Ireland and my camp has gone very well and I will become world champion.”
If all goes as the McKennas hope, it will represent a full-circle moment for the family.
Fergal and his sons have travelled far and wide. They’ve fought, they’ve sparred, they’ve trained and they’ve learned.
“Me and my dad first went out to America when I was 16, which is 10 years ago now,” Aaron recalled. “And that was really to start my pro career, my pro journey. And I always wanted to be a professional fighter and that’s one of the sacrifices we made, to go out there to see if I liked it. And then I turned pro at 18, had my first 10 fights over there and then COVID hit, and we moved back. Stephen, as well, was over there with us. He had his first four fights in America.
“But the time in America has definitely made us into the fighters we are because you get to see a lot of different styles, the different quality of training. And it’s definitely the best place to be if you want to make it to the very top in this sport.
“I remember when I was walking into these Mexican gyms in East LA. It was just all Mexicans and they all spoke Spanish. So you’re going into their environment and then getting in the ring, sparring fully seasoned pros. Any time I was sparring over there, they were always very seasoned pros. And I was always doing well, holding my own and doing very well in sparring. Even from the young age of 16 all the way up until 21, I always did very well over there and picked up little things from different guys, different gyms.
“You’d go to a Mexican gym and they’re all about inside fighting – hitting you on the shoulders, the hips, good body work. So you’re going from a gym like that to another American-type gym where they’re more of a shell-style fighter trying to set you up. Maybe it’s a game-of-chess type of style of boxing. So it’s very important that a fighter gets to see styles like that.”
Once again, on Saturday, McKenna will be able to show what he’s learned as he looks to close the door on his hungry contender era and begin a new chapter as a champion.
