What to Know
- Zuffa Boxing stages its first boxing card in Ireland as Zuffa Boxing 10 takes place on August 8 at the 3Arena, in Dublin.
- The card has a distinct Irish flavor with Ireland’s Aaron McKenna and Italy’s Etinosa Oliha in the middleweight main event for the IBF World Middleweight title.
- Five bouts feature boxers from Ireland, with the rest of the competitors from Scotland, the Netherlands, and the U.S. The card airs in the U.S. on Paramount+ with prelims starting at 12 noon ET/9 a.m. PT, and the main card at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT.
Zuffa Boxing 10 taps into Irish boxing momentum with its first card in the Emerald Isle, with plenty for local fans to love and fans around the world to take in, featuring local favorites and international stars.
See Friday’s Zuffa Boxing 10 weigh-in.
Aaron McKenna Makes Irish Pro Debut
In the main event, the IBF World Middleweight belt will be contested by Aaron McKenna (20-0, 10 KOs) in his first fight on home soil after relocating as a pro to Hollywood’s Wild Card Gym. He faces Etinosa Oliha of Italy (22-0, 10 KOs). Oliha, whose parents are from Nigeria, says he represents both sides of his heritage. He has fought his entire career in Europe, working as a sparring partner for Badou Jack and Caleb Plant, and is a former electrician before boxing full-time.
It’s a stunning situation to have the IBF title in play between McKenna and Oliha after the epic breakdown between the IBF and Zuffa Boxing over the IBF cruiserweight defense by champion Jai Opetaia, who was stripped of his belt after the fight over a petty disagreement involving the belt’s prominence during promotions.
While both men seized an obvious opportunity, how secure is the IBF belt up for grabs on Saturday? What’s the current state of the relationship between the IBF and Zuffa Boxing? You can be sure Dana White will get these questions.
Both men are coming off their longest career layoffs (469 days for McKenna, 330 for Oliha), and any ring rust may be exposed by the sharper boxer in the ring.
McKenna said after nine years of fighting in the U.S., the U.K., and Japan, it’s “mad” that it took this long to get a fight in front of his home fans, wondering if it would ever happen. “I’m very grateful for this opportunity that Zuffa has given me … I’m going to make sure to make the most of it,” said McKenna.
McKenna conducted his first full training camp in Ireland at his home gym, literally in his backyard. Of his opponent, McKenna said Oliha looks like a “bodybuilder that skipped leg day,” promising he will take him somewhere he’s never been before – “into the trenches.”
“I can’t wait to fight. I’m going to give it my all,” said Oliha. He predicts the differing styles of McKenna and himself will make it a great fight to watch. “
While McKenna’s resume is middling, Oliha’s has not a single name of note. His last opponent was 19-33. We will quickly see what level Oliha represents. McKenna should be able to capitalize.
Also on the card, McKenna’s younger brother Stephen “The Hitman” McKenna (16-1, 15 KOs) will appear on his second Zuffa card after a knockout win on Zuffa Boxing 07 over Casey James Streeer. He faces Owen O’Neill of Belfast (14-2, 1 KO), who validates the insider boxing joke working as a cab driver between fights. But he’s also a regular sparring partner of both McKenna brothers.
Co-Main: Callum Walsh vs Tyler Denny
In the co-main event, another fighter familiar to American fans, Callum Walsh of Cork, Ireland (16-0, 11 KOs) returns for his second fight in Ireland against Tyler Denny of England (21-4-3, 1 KO). Walsh, who fought under the 360 Boxing Promotions banner with promoter Tom Loeffler, was widely seen via UFC Fight Pass and has been a longtime favorite of Dana White.
His first fight for Zuffa was as the first-ever official Zuffa Boxing main event, a wide decision over tough Mexican Carlos Ocampo. Like McKenna, Walsh came out to Hollywood during the early days of the pandemic and got noticed by trainer Freddie Roach, establishing his base at the Wild Card Gym alongside his countryman.
Walsh has also learned his lessons well about developing his social media outreach and persona, with help from his partner, UFC strawweight contender Tabatha Ricci.
“Life is just very strange, and I do believe in manifestation and all that stuff, and I believe I did a lot of that to get to where I am now, and life is weird. It doesn’t feel real at times, you know? ,” observed Walsh. “We’re all just floating around on a rock. It’s mad!”
Walsh promised to harness the energy of the “fighting Irish spirit” among the fans on Saturday, but only to a point. “It’s something that you kind of have to not take in too much. You still have to go in there and win at the end of the day. If you want to get covered in beer, you have to win!”
Denny is a solid gatekeeper who specializes in trying to stick the first loss on undefeated opponents. In those ten fights, he’s 6-3-1, no pushover. As with several of the British boxers on the card, he is also a former tradesman, a plumber who quit his job when a sponsor offered to give him a paycheck.
Zuffa Boxing 10 Undercard
A mighty fine return 💥
🇮🇪 ‘Mighty’ Joe Ward fights in front of a home crowd this SAT AUG 8 at #ZuffaBoxing10!
🎟️ https://t.co/TiqxmNHie1 | @3ArenaDublin pic.twitter.com/ffkyWJ0HFn
— Zuffa_Boxing (@Zuffa_Boxing) August 5, 2026
Three-time European gold medalist and 2016 Olympian Joe Ward of Athlone, Ireland (12-1, 8 KOs), returns from a career-long, 659-day layoff against Russian native Artjom Kasparian (14-0, 12 KOs), based in the Netherlands. Card is perhaps best known for the gruesome knee injury he suffered in his pro debut, which was his only loss. He is riding a four-fight knockout streak and worked as a sparring partner for super middleweight champion Hamzah Sheeraz.
Kasparian’s family fled Russia when he was four years old, and he spent the next seven years in refugee centers before settling in Holland.
2022 Commonwealth Games gold medalist Sam Hickey of Scotland (5-0, 2 KOs) has not lost a single round as a pro. Trained by Robert McCracken, he will face Brad Axe of England (5-1) in his first scheduled eight-round fight at middleweight. Axe is an active-duty Royal Air Force firefighter of 11 years whose only loss came on a disputed decision after a knockdown wasn’t scored for Axe.
Louis Greene of England (18-4, 12 KOs) timed his best performance in front of a big audience, stopping unbeaten prospect Jack McGann on the Anthony Joshua vs Francis Ngannou undercard, He faces Daniel Buciuc of Romania (16-2, 6 KOs) in a six round bout at middleweight.
Connor Coyle of Derry (22-0, 10 KOs) returns to the ring looking for redemption after his 2024 fight against Vito Mielnicki Jr. was ruled a no contest due to a positive drug test and year-long suspension. Coyle fights for the first time on home soil since 2017 against Mark Beuke of Corpus Christi, Texas (13-3, 7 KOs), who has a 10-fight winning streak. Beuke scored an impressive come-from-behind win by split decision over Antonio Woods in an eight-round fight after losing the first three rounds on every scorecard. Beuke works as a trainer in a program helping people manage the effects of Parkinson’s disease.
Cruiserweight Patrick O’Connor of Washington, DC (3-0, 3 KOs) celebrates his Irish heritage in a bout against Juan Manual Moriel (6-1, 5 KOs), a 40-year-old who could be the 21-year-old O’Connor’s father. Moriel turned pro just two years ago at age 38
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.
