What to Know
- Zuffa Boxing 10 delivered a new Irish world champion for the 14,000 fans at the 3Arena in Dublin.
- On a card heavy with Irish boxing talent, Aaron McKenna won the IBF World Middleweight title over Etinosa Oliha of Italy.
- McKenna and Steve Hickey were awarded Performance of the Night bonuses, and Joe Ward won the Fight of the Night bonus.
As the sun sets Saturday over Ireland, the nation can celebrate the crowning of a new boxing champion.
Aaron McKenna (21-0, 10 KOs) became the new IBF World Middleweight champion in his first pro fight on home soil with a solid decision victory over Etinosa Oliha of Italy (22-1, 10 KOs). Scores were 118-110, 117-111, and 116-112.
“Since six years old, I thought about this moment my whole life. So, for it to finally happen now at 27, it just goes to so everyone: don’t give up. Always stay true to yourself, and you can do anything,” said McKenna.
McKenna’s training and superior resume overcame a long layoff out of the ring. Despite being the IBF’s sixth-ranked middleweight fighting number five, Oliha gave a good effort, but his lack of championship-level experience and a thin resume showed as McKenna took control of the fight. McKenna also used his five-inch height and reach advantage to control the pace of the fight and keep Oliha back.
“He was definitely strong. I knew he was going to be strong, but I made it harder than it should have been. But I’m not going to think about that until the next few weeks because I done the job. I done it easy enough, but it was tougher than what I thought it would be,” said McKenna.
The victory was the realization of a dream for McKenna and his father and trainer Fergal, who had put everything they had into two decades of training to achieve Saturday’s results. It was McKenna’s father who took his sons to Southern California to expose them to high-level sparring and competition, preparing them for the opportunity on Saturday.
McKenna brought his father forward, who normally shuns the limelight. “My dad sacrificed his whole life for us.”
“It’s hard to believe. Twenty years of hard work, dedication, family commitment to witness this, to be part of this Irish crowd, it’s something special. The words can’t describe it. I’m so proud of him,” said Fergal McKenna.
“Dreams come forward, and thanks to all the Irish fans, you made it really easy for us. You drove Aaron on when he needed to push.”
Stevie McKenna Makes It Two
STEVIE MCKENNA SENT HIM FLYING
WHAT A KNOCKOUT!!!
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— Paramount Boxing (@ParamountBoxing) August 8, 2026
Stevie “The Hitman” McKenna (17-1, 15 KOs) lived up to his moniker with a sensational knockout win over Owen O’Neill of Belfast (14-3, 1 KO). It only took one second longer than his first-round knockout at Zuffa Boxing 02 as McKenna drilled O’Neill with a series of three right hooks. The third hit an unprotected O’Neill so hard, he flew across the ring. The time was 1:05 of the first round.
“The Irish turn up, it’s incredible. So early on the card!” said McKenna. He said he and brother Aaron want to headline their own card someday. “I want to come back here and be in big fights. Callum Walsh, how about that one?” asked McKenna, met by a roar of approval from the fans.
Callum Walsh Outlasts Tyler Denny
In a fight that started off messy and exciting, and ended with a whimper, not a bang, middleweight Callum Walsh of Cork, Ireland (17-0, 11 KOs) leaves Dublin with a unanimous decision over Tyler Denny of England (21-5-3, 1 KO), a vicious cut over the left eye, and possibly a broken orbital bone.
It may be the reason Walsh was content to cruise down the stretch after trading knockdowns with Denny in rounds 1 and 2. Walsh was ducking to evade a punch and put his glove on the canvas
Knockdown for Callum Walsh! 🇮🇪
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— Paramount Boxing (@ParamountBoxing) August 8, 2026
He returned the favor with a first-rate knockdown.
Points were deducted against Walsh for holding, and Denny for hitting behind the head; thus, the odd-looking scorecards of 98-91, 98-91, and 96-90 for Walsh.
“It was a lot harder than I thought,” said Walsh. “I think in the second round we clashed heads. I think he broke my orbital bone. It was crunching the whole time, and my hands have been fucked, too. But no excuses. The Irish are the best fans in the world, and I love to be here,” added Walsh.
“I wish I could have been better. You know, it was very tough. He’s awkward. He’s tricky, but we’ll go again.”
The Irish fans were cheering Walsh on all the way, but for less-involved fans, Walsh isn’t showing an extra gear to close out the show. Whether it was due to his injuries in this fight is hard to determine.
Zuffa Boxing 10 Undercard Highlights
Three-time European gold medalist and 2016 Olympian Joe Ward of Athlone, Ireland (13-1, 8 KOs) had to come from behind on the scorecards down the stretch to take the decision from Artjom Kasparian of Russia (14-1, 12 KOs), based in the Netherlands. Scores were 97-93, 97-93, and 96-94.
The light heavyweight fight got off to a fast start, with both big men going straight to each other in the center of the ring and engaging in battle for the first three rounds. Kasparian had the early edge working at distance with better timing. Ward seemed off, perhaps the product of being out of the ring more than 600 days since his last fight.
Ward shook the ring rust off and heated up through the middle rounds, working his excellent southpaw jab even as Kasparian tried to make it an inside fight. When he failed thanks to Ward taking control and stepping up the pace as Kasparian’s early effort faded, it gave Ward the victory and the Fight of the Night bonus. Not bad for a man who lost his first pro fight due to injury.
Sam Hickey Makes It Two Bonuses In A Row
2022 Commonwealth Games gold medalist Sam Hickey of Scotland (6-0, 3 KOs) scored a sensational knockout with a right hook off a lead jab, dropping Brad Axe of England (5-2) at 20 seconds of round seven.
MASSIVE KNOCKOUT PUNCH BY SAM HICKEY!!
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— Paramount Boxing (@ParamountBoxing) August 8, 2026
Hickey won the Performance of the Night, as he did in his in his first Zuffa bout. But Hickey said making it two in a row wasn’t on his mind. “I’m just here to put on a good performance. If they come, they come,” smiled Hickey.
Louis Greene of England (19-4, 12 KOs) drilled a game Daniel Buciuc of Romania (16-3, 6 KOs) to the body for six hard rounds but could not dish out the first stoppage loss to Buciuc. Greene took the win by referee decision, 59-55.
Connor Coyle of Derry (23-0, 10 KOs) returns after a suspension due to a positive drug test, getting the decision over tough Texan Mark Beuke of Corpus Christi, Texas (13-4, 7 KOs). The pair traded action throughout their ten-round fight, but it was Coyle’s cleaner shots that won the judges’ approval. Scores were 98-93, 98-92, and 97-92.
Cruiserweight Patrick O’Connor of Washington DC (4-0, 4 KOs) wasted no time coming straight at Juan Manual Moriel of Spain (6-2, 5 KOs) from the opening bell. He used all three minutes of the first round battering Moriel with wicked body shots. The corner decided the Spanish fighter’s night was over, waving off the fight before the second round.
Gayle Falkenthal is an award-winning boxing journalist with more than four dozen awards for both written and video coverage from the Boxing Writers Association of America, Society of Professional Journalists, and San Diego Press Club, where she is the past president. She is the only woman journalist who is a full voting member of the BWAA. She is the Boxing Editor for NY Fights based in San Diego, California.
