Aaron McKenna vs. Etinosa Oliha Live Updates and Highlights From Today's Boxing Card

Irish eyes are smiling in Dublin, where Aaron McKenna officially became the IBF's world champion at middleweight with a unanimous decision over Etinosa Oliha.

The official scores were 118-110, 117-111 and 116-112 for the winner, who won for the 21st consecutive time since turning pro in 2017.

"As clear and decisive a victory," blow-by-blow man Joe Tessitore said, "as you can have to earn gold. This elevates him to a far different level."

"I never lost discipline in training but I was wondering if (fighting in Ireland) would ever come," McKenna said. "I made it harder (against Oliha) than it should have been. Since I was 6 years old, I've been thinking of this moment."

McKenna didn't kneel on the ball but he didn't close the show with a particularly memorable flourish in the 12th round on the way to what'll be a coronation.

"We knew McKenna was good," analyst Max Kellerman said, "but he has put real distance between himself and another undefeated contender."

It's 11-1 in rounds on the B/R card or a near whitewash at 119-109 in points.

Expect the judges to match, or nearly match, those totals.

Analyst Max Kellerman continued blowing McKenna's horn in the 10th, favorably comparing his demeanor to the meanness of former four-division champ Terence Crawford.

"He's physically strong, he's mentally tough and he can box," said analyst Andre Ward, who suggest Oliha has made a "concession" that he can't win the fight.

Oliha opened the 11th with a brief charge but didn't do much to sustain it after the round's early seconds, leaving McKenna with a lead that'd survive anything other than a natural disaster heading into the final three minutes.

B/R has it 10-1 in rounds, or 109-100 in points.

It was more of the same into the seventh for McKenna, who bored forward and landed shots and smothered the effect of Oliha's responses. The Irishman opened up with his longest prolonged rally in the back half of the round and eluded any worthwhile replies.

Analyst Max Kellerman suggested a "case can be made" for McKenna being the world's best fighter at 160 pounds if he continues to the finish line, or certainly no worse than the top three in the world at the weight.

Each round is looking the same as the fight continues, with McKenna moving forward and landing the more memorable shots but with little sustained action.

B/R's card has given him eight of the nine rounds for a sizable 89-82 edge in points.

McKenna landed a pair of noticeable body shots—one with each hand—in the final minute of the fourth round and continued to be effective when using his superior size.

McKenna continued into the fifth by landing flashier shots—jabs and quick left hooks—from distance and worked intermittently well when the fighters tied up inside.

They're not dominant rounds, but McKenna is winning close one after close one.

B/R's card has it 5-1 in his favor—or 59-55 on points—at the halfway mark.

Analyst Max Kellerman pumped the significance of the fight by mentioning that none of the other eight fighters in Ring Magazine's top 10 had ever fought another top-10 foe.

Mentioning names like Ray Robinson, Marvin Hagler, Bernard Hopkins and Canelo Alvarez in the same breath as McKenna-Oliha was a bit much, but McKenna, nearly a 5-to-1 favorite according to DraftKings, did resemble a world-class operator early with an effective left jab and strategic footwork.

Faster with his hands, Oliha went around McKenna's high guard with a right hand that wobbled the bigger man in the second and the Irishman was left stiff-legged by an overhand right soon after.

McKenna again performed with greater effect in the third with a hard left jab as he stepped forward and pressed the action to initiate contact.

B/R has it 2-1 in rounds—or 29-28 in points—at the one-quarter pole.

It's title time at last in Ireland, where the crowd is sure to reawaken upon seeing McKenna, making his first fighting appearance in the country, beginning his ring walk.

McKenna is 20-0 with 10 KOs while Oliha, who's 22-0 with 10 KOs, has won four of his last seven by finish.

It's scheduled for 12 rounds for the vacant IBF title at 160 pounds.

Three scorecards. Three decisive tallies for Walsh, who's now unbeaten in 17 fights.

The official scores were 98-91, 98-91 and 96-90.

B/R had the Irishman winning eight of 10 rounds, but it was hardly as titillating for the local folks in Ireland as they'd have believed based on the pre-fight hype.

"It was very tough," said Walsh, who was visibly gashed over his left eye and suggested he may have had his right-side orbital bone broken by a butt. "I'm very critical of myself. I should've been a lot better."

Another fight, another win for Walsh, which likely means another main event on a future Zuffa show thanks to his long-term friendship with promotional boss Dana White.

He's not ranked in the top 10 by Ring Magazine and is considered no higher by the sanctioning bodies than his No. 8 ranking by the IBF.

Regardless, it's a 97-90 tally in his favor on the B/R card.

As soon as analyst Max Kellerman suggested Walsh was content to sit on a gigantic lead, the Irishman ended the seventh round with a hard flurry that drove Denny to the ropes.

Indeed, it looked as if Walsh could hit the gas and make things academic as the eighth began and he held both hands low and took shots with both hands but wasn't consistent enough with the attack to keep Denny into significant trouble.

Walsh had a point deducted for holding and Denny was docked one for hitting behind the head as the eighth headed into its final minute.

Cut over the left eye by a butt at the conclusion of the eighth, Walsh ended the ninth with an 87-81 edge on the B/R scorecard—having won seven of nine rounds.

Effective use of the right jab and follow-up left hands—sometimes one at a time, sometimes in flurries—was the ticket in the fourth for Walsh, who moved from side to side and kept Denny pursuing and lunging with little impact.

Walsh was in command in the fifth when he initiated exchanges with right jabs and either overhand lefts or sneaky right hooks. When he got off first, he controlled the flow.

The crowd got restless in the sixth with the chronic holding that typically resulted after Walsh delivered a one-two combination and Denny charged in close to initiate a clinch.

B/R had it 5-1 for Walsh through six, or 59-54 on points.

Ten years younger than his 35-year-old opponent, Walsh was sturdy out of a southpaw stance in the first round and landed jabs and left hands as Denny approached, though nothing that landed was decisive.

However, Walsh went into a low shell in the final 30 seconds of the round and dropped to his left knee when Denny kept swinging and gave him a push. Referee Emile Tiedt ruled a knockdown and issued a count as Walsh immediately rose.

Suddenly emboldened, Denny charged in with a flurry of shots early in the second and was dropped with a counter left hand just more than a minute in. He quickly rose, though, and was able to continue pressing while surviving the final two minutes.

Ward continued to land hard lefts to the head and body through the third round.

B/R had it 2-1 in rounds—and 29-27 in points—for Walsh through three.

We'll head back to middleweight for the co-main event where the first Zuffa Boxing signee—"King" Callum Walsh—steps out in front of the Irish crowd for a scheduled 10-rounder against veteran British southpaw Tyler Denny.

Walsh is 16-0 with 11 KOs, but Denny is 6-2-1 in nine fights against unbeaten opponents and has held multiple regional championships since turning pro in 2015.

Denny lost a 12-rounder against unbeaten George Liddard in March but was 2-0 in 2025 with scorecard defeats of Elvis Ahorgah and Grant Dennis.

It's official. Ward improved to 13-1 as a pro and stayed perfect in Ireland with a unanimous decision in which two judges mirrored B/R's card—giving Ward seven of 10 rounds—and a third saw it 6-4 in his direction after a spirited scrap at light heavyweight.

Pound-for-pound ascension? Probably not. But he'll sell tickets on his side of the Atlantic.

"I believe there are still a lot better performances in me," Ward said. "The more fights, the better I get."

It seemed Ward kept his Irish record perfect—he's never lost in Ireland as an amateur or pro—with a 10th round in which he landed the more memorable blows and stayed out of significant danger.

B/R scored the final three minutes in his favor and ended with a 97-93 count in his direction.

Will judges rule against a local fighter in a fight in Dublin? Stand by.

Though he still looks like a tired fighter, Ward came off the stool ready to go in the seventh and snapped Kasparian's head back with a right uppercut in the opening minute. Ward landed several stinging blows in the final minute as Kasparian was suddenly unable to elude the shots he'd sidestepped earlier while getting inside.

Analyst Max Kellerman referenced Gennady Golovkin and labeled Ward's effort a "big character show" to begin the eighth as he tattooed Kasparian with precision blows to the head. A flurry from Ward drove Kasparian through the ropes in the final 30 seconds but referee David Irving didn't label it a knockdown.

B/R had it 87-84, or 6-3 in rounds, for Ward heading to the final three minutes.

Ward was effective but sloppy early in the fourth and looked visibly fatigued as Ward sagged backward to the ropes in the final minute.

Neither man, incidentally, has ever gone beyond eight rounds as a pro.

A stinging left uppercut from Ward was the single best punch of a fifth round in which Kasparian was the busier and more effective fighter. Still, Kasparian looks like the more impactful fighter thanks to his consistent aggression and activity.

B/R has it even, 57-57, through six rounds, and it's not hard to envision judges giving the hometown fighter each of the close rounds.

Shorter by three inches, Kasparian moved forward with effective head movement and worked hie foe's body in the early going. Analyst Andre Ward suggested Kasparian was fighting "the perfect fight" in Round 1, making Joseph Ward fight a lot harder early than the Irishman might have expected.

Joseph Ward, a southpaw, was busier to begin the second round and used his right jab to offset Kasparian's aggression. He landed a hard right-left combination midway through the second that snapped Kasparian's head back.

The distance remained the decider through the third. When Joseph Ward worked the right jab and followed with hard lefts, he succeeded. When Kasparian eluded those shots and got inside, he worked well to the body and head.

B/R's calling it 2-1 through three, for Joseph Ward.

It's another step in the professional direction for former amateur phenom and 2016 Olympian Joseph Ward, who meets Artjom Kasparian at light heavyweight in the only non-middleweight bout on the main card.

They're scheduled to go 10 rounds.

Ward is 12-1 with eight KOs since turning pro in 2019 and has won all 12 since a surprise loss to Marco Delgado in his 2019 debut.

Kasparian, meanwhile, is 14-0 with 12 KOs and has finished seven straight fights in a combined 35 rounds.

You know it's good when they reference the "Hitman."

That's what analyst Max Kellerman did after Sam Hickey vaporized Brad Axe with a right hand that rendered the beaten man unconscious and flat on his back.

"That was a picture, perfect right-hand knockout," Kellerman said. "That's the way guys used to fall when Tommy Hearns would hit them with a right hand."

Another fight, another memorable KO in this one.

Axe pressed forward to start the seventh, but Hickey landed a quick left jab and a follow-up right that dumped Axe to the floor for several moments.

Hickey asked the crowd to settle down while Axe was tended to but the beaten man ultimately got to a seated position on the mat and climbed to his feet and walked back to his corner.

The official time was 27 seconds of Round 7.

Quick B/R correction: This one is scheduled for eight rounds, not six.

Axe climbed to his feet to survive the third and seemed sturdy again in the fourth, but Hickey continued to come forward while working effectively with both hands. Axe scored well with his own left jab to start the fifth and landed a noticeable overhand right.

Hickey was by no means exhausted through six rounds, but Axe did take advantage of his opponent's less prodigious work rate in the fifth and sixth.

B/R had it 4-2 for Hickey—or 56-53 on points—through six.

Possessing a five-inch advantage in height, Hickey worked early from distance and stuck the shorter Axe with left jabs through Round 1. Axe was able to leap in and land occasional single shots, but Hickey remained effective and initiated most of the exchanges.

Two right hands in the final 45 seconds of Round 2 seemed to hurt Axe, and Hickey was effective again with the left hand—both as a jab and a hook—in Round 3. He scored a knockdown with a flurry of lefts and rights in the final seconds.

B/R has given all three rounds to the Scotsman.

Unbeaten Scottish middleweight Sam Hickey goes for a sixth straight win since turning professional in 2024 when he faces Brad Axe, who's won four in a row since splitting his first two fights as a pro in 2024, in a six-round bout.

Axe has won by decisions in four, six (twice) and eight rounds during his streak, while Hickey was a second-round winner over Todd Tompkins in his most recent fight in June.

Greene's win streak officially stretched to three when announcer Joe Martinez read off the tally that favored the Englishman by a 59-55 in the eyes of scoring ref Emile Tiedt.

Greene improved to 19-4 as a pro while Buciuc fell to 16-3.

"I went six. I didn't want to go six," Greene said. "But it is what it is."

Greene continued to impose his will into the fight's second half, plowing forward with little regard for anything coming back in his direction. A noticeable tired Buciuc was left to use footwork to evade the pressure and continually tie up when Greene got in close.

Referee Emile Tiedt watched closely as Greene landed several heavy blows to end the fourth round and began the fifth by pinning Buciuc on the ropes. The cagey Romanian veteran endured that onslaught, though, and wound up surviving to the bell after Round 6.

The final B/R card gave it to Greene, 59-55, or five rounds to one.

Greene was the aggressor and fought coming forward from the opening seconds of the first round, though Buciuc looked comfortable working off the back foot and using superior hand speed and work rate to control the early action.

A more determined Greene scored well on the inside and landed a pair of hard left hooks to the head early in the second and several hard shots to the body. The Englishman continued to work in close into the third as well and began taking visual control of the bout.

Call it 2-1 for Greene at the halfway point.

The main card opens with the first of four middleweight fights, with 34-year-old Louis Greene (18-4, 12 KO) taking on Romanian import Daniel Buciuc (16-2, 6 KO) in a scheduled six-rounder.

Buciuc has won a pair of fights in 2026 and Greene has won two straight (both by KO) since his last loss in 2023.

The prelim card's first bout ended abruptly when Juan Manuel Moriel was unable to get off the stool, citing an injury to his left shoulder, after a single round against Patrick O'Connor.

The sudden win lifted O'Connor to 4-0 as a pro.

Old-school video game character "Glass Joe" was on the mind of analyst Max Kellerman when Stevie McKenna sent opponent Owen O'Neill flying, literally, with a fight-ending right hand in Round 1 of their middleweight matchup.

The fight ended at 1:05 of the first round, just a second longer than McKenna's 64-second blowout of Casey James Streeter two months ago.

"Right now at this moment," Kellerman said, "the star-making turn on this card is Stevie McKenna."

Connor Coyle made it 23-for-23 as a pro with a unanimous decision over Mark Beuke in their 10-round middleweight scrap.

No fewer than six of Saturday's 16 fighters are native to Ireland.

If he can't get Terence Crawford in a ring, Aaron McKenna suggests a different venue.

Main Card

Aaron McKenna def. Etinosa Oliha by unanimous decision (118-110, 117-111, 116-112)

Callum Walsh def. Tyler Denny by unanimous decision (98-91, 98-91, 96-90)

Joseph Ward def. Artjom Kasparian by unanimous decision (97-93, 97-93, 96-94)

Sam Hickey def. Brad Axe by KO, 0:27, Round 7

Louis Greene def Daniel Buciuc by referee decision (59-55)

Prelim Card

Stephen McKenna def. Owen O'Neill by TKO, 1:05, Round 1

Connor Coyle def. Mark Beuke by unanimous decision (98-93, 98-92, 97-93)

Patrick O'Connor def. Juan Manuel Moriel by TKO, 3:00, Round 1