Aaron McKenna says 'this is only the start' as he puts middleweight division on notice with Liam Smith win

Aaron McKenna warned 'this is only the start' after recording the biggest win of his career to date on Saturday night.

The Monaghan man knocked Liam Smith down on his way to a unanimous decision victory, winning the WBA International Middleweight title in the process at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

It was a coming of age performance from the 25-year-old, who dominated the 12-round contest against the former WBO world light-middleweight champion, 11 years his senior, on the Chris Eubank Jr v Conor Benn card.

"This is only the start," McKenna, who was given the nod by the three judges (119-108, 117-109, and 118-108), told the Irish Mirror afterwards.

"I'm going to keep my feet on the ground and stay focused until I become world champion. This isn't even 10% of what I can do."

He added: "What a feeling that was. I got the chance to show myself on the biggest stage in the world and with an audience that big, a packed out arena.

"There was pressure on me, no one gave me a chance. All the boxing experts said Smith was too experienced, so what a time to do it."

McKenna showed his slick boxing skills and fantastic movement throughout and put the rest of the middleweight division on notice.

'The Silencer' used his jab brilliantly, also catching Smith with numerous right hands and uppercuts as he maintained his range superbly, switching stances at times.

The now 20-0 fighter will face anyone next and on the basis of that performance there probably won't be too many putting their hands up to share the ring with him.

"It sets up anything," continued McKenna. "I believe I'm the best fighter in the middleweight division. I want any fight next.

"You have the main event as well tonight. Whether they take the fight or not, I don't know. Eddie Hearn said in an interview during the week that if I win this fight it's going to be massive for Irish boxing, that I'm the next superstar coming through.

"So, you could take big fights back to Ireland."

McKenna also paid tribute to his opponent, who has previously shared the ring with the likes of Canelo Álvarez, and Jaime Munguía, with Saturday's defeat just his fifth from 39 fights.

It was Smith's first fight since being stopped by Eubank Jr in the tenth round of their rematch in September 2023, eight months after 'Beefy' knocked him out in Manchester.

The game Liverpool man kept going right until the final bell when many others would have looked for a way out in similar circumstances and managed to survive until the end of the bout after being floored by a left hook to the body in the final round.

"A win like that is a nice scalp to have on your record," said McKenna.

"What a legend the sport of Liam Smith is and it was an honour to share the ring with him. I watched him growing up when he was world champion. I watched his fight live against Canelo and now I got to share the ring with him.

"I not only beat him, but dropped him along the way too. It's going to do wonders for my career."

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