Chess with Terence Crawford has Aaron McKenna ready for Prizefighter chance
Chess with Pound for Pound star Terence Crawford has Aaron McKenna ready to declare checkmate when he faces Jeovanny Estela.
The Monaghan middleweight faces the American in the quarter-final of Matchroom’s Prizefighter tournament in Osaka on July 15.
A huge $1m prizepot awaits the overall winner – and McKenna believes he has the tools to take the life-changing paycheque.
The 24-year-old goes into the tournament on the back of sparring the three-weight world champion and potentially the best fighter pound for pound on the planet in Crawford – and argues he couldn’t have had better preparation.
“It was like a game of chess sparring him. He is trying to set you up all the time,” he tells International Boxing News.
“It was world-level sparring. You couldn’t ask for better sparring and you couldn’t get it if you tried. Having that behind me going into this fight will really work to my benefit.”
Speaking on the opportunity he said: He said: “This is a life-changing opportunity for me. It would put me in a strong position to fight anyone in the world.
“It excited me from the start. The prize fund, it’s a massive opportunity and maybe would put you in line to fight for a world title.”
