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Monaghan’s boxer Stevie McKenna is looking to pick up where he left off when he returns to the ring Saturday night to face Gary McGuire.
The undefeated Smithborough native is set to kick-start his fledgling professional career, which has stalled as a result of the current coronavirus.
It’s been close to a year since the super lightweight prospect fought his fourth fight in paid ranks and the Los Angeles-based boxer will be looking to score five straight wins at Production Park Studios in West Yorkshire on Saturday.
Another event behind closed doors, McKenna is fighting on the undercard of the super featherweight European title fight promoted by Hennessy Sports between Samir Ziani and Alex Dilmaghani and is looking to make a statement on his return to the ring.
Known as The Hitman, McKenna enjoys a 100% knockout record in his short professional career, and will fight for the first time on this side of the Atlantic since his days as a prominent fan in Ireland.
“I’m very excited and ready for this fight. I’m going to put on a show,” McKenna said, speaking with RTÉ Sport before the fight.
McKenna has returned home to Smithborough during the Covid crisis and will return to his Los Angeles base once travel restrictions have been eased, but the 23-year-old seized the opportunity to compete on the English undercard, with him Additional incentive for the fight to be shown free on Channel 5 television, which will help boost your profile.
McKenna flew to Manchester on Wednesday and went through his coronavirus tests on Thursday before entering the undercard bubble ahead of Saturday night’s event at Wakefield.
“I am grateful to Hennessy Sports and my management team for getting me the fight and I can’t wait to get back in the ring,” added McKenna, who is expected to win against the late replacement Maguire.
“I cannot overlook any opponent. He is there to try to win, so I will be 100% focused on the ring.”
McKenna and his younger brother Aaron train at the world famous Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles, and while in Ireland, Stevie has been enjoying a high-quality match with recently crowned British title winner and former world title challenger James Tennyson. as well as with your partner. Irish prospect and former training partner of Conor McGregor Tiernan Bradley.
“I have done over 120 rounds of sparring and since the start of the lockout I have been working with James Tennyson who is doing very well and I have had a great match in Belfast and Dublin.
“James is a great fighter and he’s very strong with an aggressive style so we always have some great workouts and he cheers me on and makes me better.
“He was also training Tyrone boxer Tiernan Bradley, who will soon be making his professional debut and he was also doing a great job with him.
“He’s a great fighter, he’s very skilled and he’s a smart fighter, so we were doing a good job with each other.”
The McKenna brothers have been working with legendary coach Freddie Roach, who has worked with Manny Pacquiao, Miguel Cotto, Steve Collins, Bernard Dunne, Wayne McCullough, and Amir Khan.
And McKenna believes it has really helped him with his aggressive style, while also making him use his height and long reach to his advantage.
“Freddie always wants me to work on my aggressive style, but at the same time using my reach. He loves aggressive fighters but he wants Aaron and I to keep fighters close at hand, hitting punches and hurting people.
“Every time we’re in the gym, we’re always learning from Freddie, showing us little tricks and telling us what to do, and he’s a great man to have by your side. A legendary Hall of Fame coach, so you couldn’t get much better.
“We’ve kept in touch with Freddie and he’s heartbroken that he can’t come out for the fight. He’s been wishing me the best of luck and telling me to do what I do best.
“My power shots are much better when I hit the right range. I’m really sitting on my shots and I’m hitting a lot harder than before, so I feel stronger in the ring.
“He’s a tremendous coach and I’m looking forward to going back to Los Angeles to work with him.”
Another good week of sparring with @ JamesT931 🥊 pic.twitter.com/qAqtkpith2
– Stevie McKenna (@stevie_mckenna) July 3, 2020
McKenna recently found himself caught in a social media feud with one of the world’s best prospects, Golden Boy fighter Ryan Garcia, who is expected to fight Luke Campbell in a world title eliminator in the near future.
Campbell is an Olympic champion, beating Irishman Joe Joe Nevin for the gold medal at the London Games, and recently put on a good show against one of the world’s best pound-for-pound fighters Vasiliy Lomachenko.
McKenna upset Garcia with his comments regarding the proposed fight, where he predicted Campbell would win by knockout, having faced the American prospect in Los Angeles.
“Sky Sports asked me who would win the Luke Campbell vs. Garcia fight and I gave my honest opinion, that I thought Campbell would stop Ryan for facing Ryan and knowing what he is like.
“It was a unique match. After the match they told us we were going to fight again on Wednesday, but when we got there, he didn’t want to train, he was training someone else, a weak, lighter guy. He didn’t. I don’t want him.
“Ryan started posting things on Twitter and then deleting them, and then he sent me private messages and he wasn’t happy. He doesn’t like hearing the truth and he didn’t like what I said.”
Garcia has an impeccable record with 20 pro wins when he’s only 22, and it’s a fight McKenna would love a little later. And a fight that he thinks he would win.
“I would love to have a fight with him over the course of a year or two. I want to fight people like him, and go in there and beat him.”
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