In the main event of the evening, Ireland’s undefeated Aaron McKenna captured the vacant IBF middleweight world title after outclassing previously unbeaten Italian contender Etinosa Oliha over 12 rounds at 3Arena.
The matchup was a battle between two of The Ring magazine’s top 10 middleweight contenders, with McKenna ranked sixth and Oliha fifth. But as the pair battled it out over the 12-round duration, it was clear which contender was the superior fighter, as McKenna comprehensively outboxed Oliha to earn scores of 118-110, 117-111, 116-112 on the judges’ scorecards.
The action started out pretty evenly, with McKenna working well behind the jab, while Oliha looked to land on the inside when the action got close. But as the action progressed through the rounds, McKenna started to separate himself on the scorecard as he consistently worked behind the jab from range, then tied up Oliha up close, preventing the Italian from landing big shots from short range.
The longer the fight went on, the more McKenna was able to make Oliha miss, as he used his smart footwork and movement to frustrate the Italian while still scoring consistently with shots of his own.
A clash of heads in the 11th round opened up a cut on McKenna’s hairline, but it didn’t affect him in the slightest as he continued to pull clear with another strong round. And with the Dublin crowd on their feet cheering and singing, McKenna outboxed Oliha through the final round to close out the fight and capture the world title with a landslide decision victory.
The scorecards reflected McKenna’s dominance throughout the fight, with the Monaghan native taking the unanimous decision win, 118-110, 117-111, 116-112, improving his ledger to 21-0 (10 KOs) and handing Oliha the first defeat of his professional career, (22-1, 10 KOs). The New IBF middleweight champion said he’ll take on anyone in the division and didn’t rule out moving up to super middle either.
(Photo Gallery By Ed Mulholland)
The post Result: McKenna Defeats Oliha To Win IBF Middleweight Title appeared first on FightNews.
