Don’t let the boy-ish looks or the fact that Aaron McKenna is only 25 fool you. 

The Irish middleweight contender is 19-0 (10 KOs), ranked No. 15 with the IBF, and closing in on the biggest fight of his career, against Liam Smith at Tottenham Hotspur Football Club on Saturday night as part of the Chris Eubank Jnr-Conor Benn event.

He was always destined for big fights and a showcase spot, and now it is down to whether he can take the opportunity. It is something he has long been preparing for.

“I first started coming over to America when I was 16 and from then it’s always like, you never know who’s going to walk into the gym,” McKenna said. “And since I was 16, I’ve been used to training like this, world-class fighters walking in and world-class coaches as well, being in great gyms and you pick up everything from every gym you go to and every spar and that’s why I like being over here in America and just getting used to all the different styles. It’s all about learning as much as you can and picking up as much experience as you can and I’m in my prime years now. I’m 25 years old and I’m just ready to really show it.”

Speaking in the Top Rank Gym in Las Vegas a month out from the Smith fight, McKenna had just done eight brisk rounds with Ronald Ellis, who was on his way to Camp Canelo for his next assignment the following day. 

Ellis was impressed, so too Brian “BoMac” McIntyre, as McKenna notched countless rounds with his fighters, including Lester Martinez and Troy Isley. 

“Sparring the likes of them, getting ready for this fight, it’s been brilliant preparation,” McKenna adds. “They’re all really good fighters, all getting ready for big fights as well, around the same time as me, so I’m in good shape heading into this one.

“Every camp I’ve had has been brilliant. I always treat my camps as if it’s for a world title and this camp’s been one of the best so far. I’ve had five brilliant weeks out in Las Vegas, having world-class sparring, people all rated in the top 15 in the world and I couldn’t get better sparring if I tried.”

It has been quite a journey, from training in the back garden of his father, Fergal, in their makeshift gym in Monaghan, Ireland, to working his way around the best gyms in Los Angeles and Las Vegas, working with many of this era’s top fighters.

While McKenna might have earned his reputation in the gyms, he is not one of the biggest names on the Saturday bill. He is, of course, hoping to change that, and he remains unsure whether he is one of boxing’s best kept secrets or if the credit he’s got for sparring so many champions and contenders means fans know what is to come.

“I’d say it’s a lot would and a lot wouldn’t [know how good he is] because, from about two or three years ago, I’ve always had that chance to have a big fight and then for unforeseen reasons, like a couple of days before the fight or a week before the fight, they’d pull out,” McKenna lamented. “Anytime we got that opportunity for a big fight, a big decent name, to be able to really catch people’s eyes, they pulled out. So this one’s going to be the biggest yet in the Tottenham Hotspur Arena, nearly 70,000 fans on the Eubank-Benn undercard and everyone in the UK is going to be watching – so this is really my ultimate time to really show people I’m the real deal and I’m going to take over the middleweight division.”
As much as McKenna anticipates fighting in North London at Spurs, he would embrace the opportunity to fight at Anfield, where the soccer team he supports, Liverpool, play their home fixtures. Like McKenna, Smith is a Liverpool fan.

But Smith is Liverpool born and bred, so McKenna might have received a hostile reception. “It wouldn't have mattered if I was fighting in Anfield,” he smiled. “100 per cent I would take that opportunity and get the respect of all the Liverpool people, but even fighting in Tottenham Hotspur it’s probably one of the newest stadiums in the Premier League so it’s well designed and it’s going to be some feeling, walking out there to a full stadium and what an opportunity to really push on a career.”

It certainly is that. Smith is a highly-respected name and while the former WBO 154lbs champion has been inactive, he could be well preserved, too. 

McKenna certainly has plenty of respect for the 36-year-old Liverpool man, but he is keen to scalp the veteran nonetheless.

“It’s always someone that you’d want to fight with because he was world champion, he’s a very good fighter,” McKenna added. “He’s been in there with a lot of good guys, he knocked out Chris Eubank [Jnr], so that’s the type of guys you want to be fighting if you want to become world champion and he’s definitely one of the top guys in the division and someone I have to beat to become world champion. 

“He’s a good fighter, strong, come-forward fighter, a fan-friendly style like myself. We both come forward looking to take our guys out of there and it’s going to be an exciting fight. I think it will be the best fight on the card. And yeah, he’s experienced, he’s been in there with Chris Eubank knocked him out [in a rematch], Canelo, [Jaime] Munguia… so he knows all the different styles as well – and it’s a fight I’m looking forward to.”

While there is no disguising McKenna’s ambition, there is also no disguising that Smith represents a significant step up in opponents for the Irishman. The 14-0 Jeovanny Estela, and the 10-0 Uisma Lima cannot come close to the experience of the 33-4-1 (20 KOs) Smith. McKenna understands that, too, but he refuses to admit the fear factor of the unknown is any greater for taking on the challenge that lies ahead.

“No, it’s all respect,” McKenna stated. “He was world champion and so he knows what it’s like, but these are the type of fights I’ve been calling for the last three or four years. I finally got the opportunity to get it and what a card to be getting it on. There’s going to be some atmosphere in that stadium that night and all I’m focused on is getting the win and putting on a good performance for everyone watching.” 

In December, McKenna’s brother Stephen lost the first professional fight of his career to Bournemouth’s Lee Cutler. Aaron thought it was close and that it could have gone either way, but said whatever has happened to his brother, their goals remain the same; to win titles.

“Stephen knows what it was like now to come back and he’s been in the gym ever since so he’s determined, he’s focused he’s very disciplined, a really good fighter and I know Stephen will come back bigger and better,” Aaron said. “He’s a very strong fighter and I’m looking forward to his next one.”

The bump in the road is part of the journey they are on. The US leg started when they were 16, and McKenna was signed to a pro contract at 18. He knew he wanted to be a pro, that he had the style for it, and he also took on part of his education in Mexican gyms.

He knows the sacrifices have been made for nights like this. McKenna has boxed in America, Japan, the UK, and he’d embrace the opportunity to box in Ireland, although he refuses to look beyond Smith, knowing full well victory will take him where he wants to go.

“This is a one of the top guys in the middleweight division in my opinion… Eubank is in the main event and Liam knocked out Eubank in devastating fashion so beating Liam Smith definitely puts a lot of eyes on me,” McKenna said.

McKenna said that there is a rematch clause in place for his fight, but he would be open to facing the winner of Saturday’s bill-topper. The focus, however, remains on Smith.

And with a career-defining victory, McKenna knows that the journey will be worth it in the end. All of the travelling, the sparring, the fights, all of it, has led to this fight.

“Yeah, well it’s not easy, boxing,” McKenna said. “It’s not easy. Anyone in the world will tell you that, but the sacrifices you have to make if you want to become a world champion if you want to be that top one per cent in the game, these are the things you have to do and I love the game. I love what I do. I love the trade and I love coming out here to America and I know these are the sacrifices I need to make in my career I’ve been doing it since I was 16. I’m 25 now and it’ll all be worth it.”