Aaron McKenna Beats Etinosa Oliha to Win IBF Middleweight World Title in Dublin

Aaron McKenna has his world title and Dublin has a new champion to celebrate. The unbeaten Irishman went the full 12 rounds with Etinosa Oliha before taking a unanimous decision and claiming the vacant IBF middleweight crown.

There was plenty underneath it too. Callum Walsh came through Tyler Denny over ten rounds, Joseph Ward handed Artjom Kasparian his first defeat, while Sam Hickey and Stephen McKenna supplied the stoppages on a busy Zuffa Boxing 10 card.

Main Event: Aaron McKenna Beats Etinosa Oliha to Become IBF Champion

Aaron McKenna (21-0-0) is still unbeaten and now has an IBF world title to go with the perfect record after outpointing Etinosa Oliha (22-1-0) by unanimous decision over 12 rounds.

With the vacant IBF World Middleweight title on the line, McKenna had to go the championship distance rather than getting the dramatic stoppage a home crowd might have dreamed about. It hardly mattered. Twelve rounds later the judges were unanimous and Oliha had suffered the first defeat of his professional career.

For McKenna, this was the result that mattered above everything else. He came into the night 20-0-0, took on another unbeaten middleweight and walked away 21-0-0 as a world champion. Not a bad night at home.

Co-Main Event: Callum Walsh Outpoints Tyler Denny

Callum Walsh (17-0-0) kept his unbeaten record intact with a unanimous decision over Tyler Denny (21-5-3) after ten rounds at middleweight.

Denny was brought in as an experienced test rather than a straightforward opponent, and Walsh had to hear the final bell before getting his hand raised. The judges all went his way, though, and the Irishman moves on at 17-0-0 with another useful ten rounds behind him.

Key Undercard Results

Joseph Ward (13-1-0) handed previously unbeaten Artjom Kasparian (14-1-0) his first professional defeat, winning their light-heavyweight fight by unanimous decision over ten rounds. A solid result for Ward against a man who arrived with a 14-0-0 record.

Connor Coyle (23-0-0) handled business against Mark Beuke (13-4-0), taking a unanimous decision after ten rounds at middleweight. Coyle’s unbeaten run rolls on and he now sits at 23-0-0.

Sam Hickey (6-0-0) produced one of the card’s decisive finishes, knocking out Brad Axe (5-2-0) in round seven of their scheduled eight-round middleweight contest. Axe went down in the seventh and Hickey closed the show by KO.

Stephen McKenna (17-1-0) didn’t hang around. He stopped Owen O’Neill (14-3-0) by TKO in the opening round of their scheduled eight-round middleweight fight, with O’Neill going down in round one.

Undercard

Louis Greene (19-4-0) outpointed Daniel Buciuc (16-3-0) over six rounds at middleweight, taking the contest by points decision.

Patrick O’Connor (4-0-0) picked up a first-round RTD victory over Juan Manuel Moriel (6-2-0) in their cruiserweight bout. Moriel retired in his corner after round one with a shoulder injury, leaving O’Connor unbeaten at 4-0-0.

McKenna Leaves Dublin as World Champion

The headline belongs to Aaron McKenna. Twenty-one fights, twenty-one wins and now the IBF middleweight world title after becoming the first man to beat Oliha. Walsh, Ward and Coyle also came through on the cards, while Hickey and Stephen McKenna made sure the judges weren’t required for everyone.