Aaron McKenna (20-0, 10 KOs) and Etinosa Oliha (22-0, 10 KOs) meet Saturday at the 3Arena in Dublin for the vacant IBF middleweight title, a 12-round main event that gives the Monaghan native his first professional fight in Ireland and the promotion its first bout sanctioned by one of the four major organizations.
The belt has been unclaimed since March, when the IBF stripped Janibek Alimkhanuly following a positive test for meldonium tied to his planned unification with Erislandy Lara. The sanctioning body first ordered Shakiel Thompson to face Oliha. Thompson was knocked out by Brad Pauls in Manchester before terms were reached, and McKenna, the next available contender, moved into the slot. Oliha was ranked second by the IBF at the time of the order, McKenna third. The winner is due to face Amari Jones, the organization’s newly installed mandatory challenger.
The promotion has billed the fight as a “world championship” without naming the IBF in its release, a point FIGHTMAG noted when the matchup was announced. Dana White has followed the same convention in his own promotion of the card, describing it as being for the “World Middleweight title,” according to World Boxing News. It nonetheless represents a shift. The promotion spent its first six months building a parallel championship structure, and BoxingScene reported that Dublin marks the first sanctioning body world title fight it has staged. Asked about working with the established organizations at a press conference last month, White said, “All of this is a work in progress,” per Yahoo Sports. “My goal, and if you look at what Turki [Al-Sheikh] has done over the last several years of boxing, is to put on the biggest and the best fights that we can. Whatever it takes to achieve that, we’ll try to do.”
That is a different position from the one that produced Jai Opetaia’s federal lawsuit against the IBF and prompted the WBO and IBF to form an alliance earlier this year.
McKenna, 26, is fighting at home for the first time as a professional after a career spent in Britain, the United States and Japan. He compiled more than 150 amateur wins and eight Irish national championships before turning over. His last outing was an April 2025 unanimous decision over former world champion Liam Smith on the undercard of the first Chris Eubank Jr. against Conor Benn fight in London.
“It’s going to be unbelievable. It’s something that I’ve been dreaming of since I started boxing at six years old. Finally get my fight for the world title and for it to be in Ireland makes it extra special,” McKenna told Sky Sports.
He addressed the opponent directly. “He’s a very good fighter, 22-0, strong, he’ll be game and any man that’s fighting for world titles is going to be giving it their all,” McKenna said, adding: “I know what I have to do. I’m more than ready for it.”
Speaking to the same outlet, McKenna also laid out where he wants the belt to take him, including a possible move up in weight. “On August 8 becoming world champion will open a lot of doors for me,” he said. “[Canelo] is one of the biggest names in boxing right now, he’s fighting Mbilli. That’s for the 168lb title. You never know. I win the IBF title [I could] try and unify but I’m definitely open to fighting for titles at 168 as well. I’m taking the best opportunity that’s going to grow my career.”
He invited Eubank Jr., whose father lost twice to Steve Collins in Ireland, to make the trip. “Eubank and Steve Collins, they fought in Cork on Sky Sports so you never know, if he wants to run similar story back we can do it in Ireland on Sky Sports again, it would just recreate history,” McKenna said.
Oliha, 27, is Italian and fights out of the Berlin-based AGON Sports stable. He has boxed exclusively in Italy and Germany, last appearing in September 2025 with a third-round stoppage of Ivan Njegac. He had been scheduled to meet Austin Williams in a title eliminator in Texas the previous July but was pulled from the card after a pre-fight eye examination.
AGON promoter Ingo Volckmann said camp went to plan. “Etinosa is in excellent shape. We prepared with very good sparring partners who really pushed him to his limits. That’s exactly the kind of training you need before a world championship fight. The workload was enormous, so he’s now getting the rest he needs to be in peak condition on fight day,” Volckmann said in comments published by BOXSPORT.
Volckmann pointed to temperament over technique. “There are boxers who shine in sparring but not in the ring. With Etinosa, it’s more the other way around. He’s a fighter. As soon as you talk to him about this world championship bout, you immediately see the fire in his eyes. He has only one goal left, to win this title. In the end, that sheer determination will be more important than any technical finesse.”
He also acknowledged the setting. “McKenna is a really good boxer. He’s technically strong, agile, and will push us to our limits. That’s why I’m expecting a real battle. But fights like this are exactly what Etinosa thrives on. I firmly believe that his unwavering will to win will make the difference in the end.”
The co-feature returns Callum Walsh (16-0, 11 KOs) to the 3Arena, where he stopped Przemyslaw Runowski in two rounds in September 2024. The Cork southpaw, trained by Freddie Roach and based in California, has not fought since outpointing Carlos Ocampo over 10 rounds in January. He faces Tyler Denny (21-4-3, 1 KO), a former European middleweight champion from Rowley Regis who has shared the ring with 10 undefeated opponents and lost a 12-round decision to George Liddard in March.
Walsh has been direct about wanting more from himself. “I think there’s a lot more to come. I’ve been looking for that one performance,” he told Sky Sports. “I’m still trying to make it happen. It does take two to tango. I’m doing as much as I can over here to try and be the best I can on the night.”
He is not dismissing Denny. “I know he’s going to show up and he’s going to try to beat me. And I’m ready, I’m prepared for the challenge. He’s going to come to win and this is what it’s all about.”
Walsh added: “I’ve seen a lot of comments saying there’s going to be an upset, he’s going to beat me. I’m looking forward to the challenge. I’m going to prepare to the best I can and I’m going to be the best I can on the night and hopefully put on a career-best performance and get him out of there. I think I need to mix up, definitely more aggressive, 100%, and not let him get in that groove. Just bring the fight to him.”
On the venue, he offered a warning to ringside ticket holders. “I would advise people coming to bring an umbrella. If they’re sitting close to the ring, bring an umbrella. There were beers flying everywhere. I was getting hit with pints inside the ring last time with the celebrations. It was raining inside the 3Arena.”
The full lineup, as released by the promotion:
- Aaron McKenna vs. Etinosa Oliha, middleweight, 12 rounds, vacant IBF title
- Callum Walsh vs. Tyler Denny, middleweight, 10 rounds
- Sam Hickey vs. Brad Axe, middleweight
- Joe Ward vs. Artjom Kasparian, light heavyweight
- Patrick O’Connor vs. Ibrahim Mercan, cruiserweight
- Stevie McKenna vs. Owen O’Neill, middleweight
- Connor Coyle vs. Mark Beuke, middleweight
- Louis Greene vs. opponent to be determined
Stevie McKenna (16-1, 15 KOs) is Aaron’s older brother. Northern Ireland bantamweight Dylan Eagleson, a 2022 Commonwealth Games gold medalist, signed with the promotion in June and was announced at the time for a professional debut on this card, though he did not appear on the official lineup released in July.
The card streams on Paramount+ in the United States and Canada and airs on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Box.live lists the Paramount+ broadcast beginning at 2:00 p.m. ET, the Sky Sports Main Event coverage from 7:00 p.m. BST, and main event ringwalks at approximately 10:00 p.m. BST, which is 5:00 p.m. ET. The same source has McKenna at 2/7 (-340) and Oliha at 13/5 (+260).
Dublin is the promotion’s first card in Ireland and its third outside the United States, following Bournemouth in June. The 3Arena holds roughly 14,500.
