Aaron McKenna Agrees Unification Fight

Aaron McKenna will be handed the chance to become unified world champion in his next fight.

The Monaghan man became the first middleweight world champion from Ireland since Andy Lee when he defeated Etinosa Oliha in the 3Arena in August.

And if rumour and report are to be believed, he could be afforded the opportunity to become the first Irish male boxer to unify since Ryan Burnett before 2026 is done.

Irish-boxing.com believes McKenna has agreed a deal in principle to fight WBO middleweight world title holder Denzel Bentley – and Sky Sports have reported as much.

Bentley was upgraded from interim champion to WBO champion in July after Janibek Alimkhanuly relinquished the strap and is now faced with the chance to unify.

Unfication was the first thing on Monaghan man McKenna’s mind after he claimed the IBF 160lbs strap.

“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again I will literally fight anyone out there. I just want to unify, whatever it takes, prove I’m the best in the world. That’s the sport of boxing. You look back in the day, the 80s and 90s, they all fought each other,” McKenna said.

The WBO may have thrown a Yoenli Hernandez -sized spanner in the works ordering the Londoner to defend against the number one challenger, but a unification can trump a mandatory call, while there is hope step a side money can prompt Hernandez to bide his time.

It’s unclear whether Zuffa will look to bring the fight to Ireland, if not it looks likely to be this side of the Atlantic regardless, and thus accessible for fans.