Aaron McKenna won the vacant IBF middleweight title with a wide unanimous decision over Etinosa Oliha in the main event of Zuffa Boxing 10 on Saturday night at the 3Arena in Dublin, taking scores of 118-110, 117-111 and 116-112 in his first professional fight in Ireland.

McKenna (21-0, 10 KOs) handed Oliha (22-1, 10 KOs) his first defeat in a matchup of unbeaten contenders, winning 10, nine and eight of the 12 rounds across the three official cards. The Monaghan native used his size to land body shots with both hands in the fourth and worked behind jabs and left hooks from distance through the middle rounds, stringing together close rounds before boxing off the back foot down the stretch.

“As clear and decisive a victory as you can have to earn gold,” blow-by-blow announcer Joe Tessitore said on the broadcast,.

The win makes McKenna Ireland’s first middleweight world champion since Andy Lee, and gives Zuffa Boxing its first champion under one of the four major sanctioning organizations. The belt had been vacant since March, when the IBF stripped Janibek Alimkhanuly following a positive test for meldonium, as detailed in BoxingInsider’s preview of the card. The new champion is due to face Amari Jones, the organization’s mandatory challenger.

McKenna had told Sky Sports before the fight what a title would set in motion. “Once I become world champion I’m going to take over the division,” he said. “I want to clean up the division. The 160lbs division is there to be cleaned up. So I want to become undisputed and then become a multiple-weight world champion.”

In the co-feature, Callum Walsh (17-0, 11 KOs) took a unanimous decision over former European middleweight champion Tyler Denny by scores of 98-91, 98-91 and 96-90 after 10 rounds, returning to the arena where he stopped Przemyslaw Runowski in September 2024. The Cork southpaw came out of the fight cut over his left eye and said he believed a clash of heads may have damaged his orbital bone.

“It was very tough,” Walsh said afterward. “I’m very critical of myself. I should’ve been a lot better.”

Denny, making his debut under the promotion, fell to 21-5-3, 1 KO.

Joe Ward returned from 659 days out of the ring to hand Artjom Kasparian his first professional loss, winning a unanimous decision at light heavyweight by scores of 97-93, 97-93 and 96-94. Kasparian (14-1, 12 KOs) controlled the early rounds with pressure and timing, and Ward appeared to tire badly in the fourth before working his way back behind his southpaw jab. Ward punched Kasparian through the ropes in the eighth, though the referee did not score a knockdown, and the Irishman’s cleaner work over the second half carried the cards. Ward improved to 13-1, 8 KOs.

Sam Hickey ended his middleweight bout with Brad Axe with a single straight right hand at 27 seconds of the seventh round that left Axe unconscious on the canvas. Axe gave the Scot problems through the opening two rounds before a combination dropped him at the end of the third, and Hickey controlled the fight from there. After the knockout, Hickey motioned to the crowd to quiet its celebrations while medics attended to Axe, then went to his opponent once he sat up. Hickey, a 2022 Commonwealth Games gold medalist, moved to 6-0, 3 KOs. Axe fell to 5-2.

In the main card opener, Louis Greene outworked Romania’s Daniel Buciuc over six rounds at middleweight, taking a 59-55 referee’s decision. Buciuc boxed well behind his jab early before Greene’s pressure and body work took over, with a body shot and hook combination hurting the Romanian in the fourth. Greene improved to 19-4, 12 KOs. Buciuc dropped to 16-3, 6 KOs.

On the prelims, Stevie McKenna, older brother of the new champion, needed 65 seconds to finish Belfast’s Owen O’Neill. A pair of left hooks put O’Neill on unsteady legs, and as he ducked away, McKenna landed a right hand that sent him down in front of his own corner. O’Neill’s corner instructed the referee to stop the fight at 1:05 of the first round.

“That was like a Clubber Lang knockout!” said Zuffa Boxing analyst Max Kellerman on the broadcast, per the promotion’s results page. The finish gives McKenna (17-1, 16 KOs) the two fastest knockouts in the promotion’s history, joining his 64-second stoppage of Casey James Streeter at Zuffa Boxing 07 in Bournemouth.

Connor Coyle extended his unbeaten record with a unanimous decision over American Mark Beuke at middleweight, winning 98-93, 98-92 and 97-93 in a fight closer than the totals suggest. Coyle boxed the sharper early, Beuke raised his output from the third, and a run of tight rounds followed before Coyle’s cleaner punching took the cards. The Derry native improved to 23-0, 10 KOs. Beuke fell to 13-4, 7 KOs.

In the opening bout, Patrick O’Connor battered Spain’s 41-year-old Juan Manuel Moriel for three minutes at cruiserweight, hurting him with a body shot, and Moriel did not come out for the second round. O’Connor won his promotional debut by first-round retirement to move to 4-0, 4 KOs.

The card streamed on Paramount+ in the United States and aired on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Full Zuffa Boxing 10 results

  • Aaron McKenna def. Etinosa Oliha, UD 12 (118-110, 117-111, 116-112), vacant IBF middleweight title
  • Callum Walsh def. Tyler Denny, UD 10 (98-91, 98-91, 96-90), middleweight
  • Joe Ward def. Artjom Kasparian, UD 10 (97-93, 97-93, 96-94), light heavyweight
  • Sam Hickey def. Brad Axe, KO 7 (0:27), middleweight
  • Louis Greene def. Daniel Buciuc, referee’s decision 6 (59-55), middleweight
  • Stevie McKenna def. Owen O’Neill, TKO 1 (1:05), middleweight
  • Connor Coyle def. Mark Beuke, UD 10 (98-93, 98-92, 97-93), middleweight
  • Patrick O’Connor def. Juan Manuel Moriel, RTD 1, cruiserweight