Maliciously Magnificent McKenna makes statement – ‘Silencer’ sets up mouthwatering Prizefighter semi
By Owain Comeford
Aaron McKenna certainly put proof to his nickname as the Monaghan man silenced both the support and efforts of Puerto Rican-American boxer, Jeovanny Estela this morning in the quarter-finals of the Prizefighter tournament in Osaka, Japan on Monday morning.
Known as the ‘Silencer’, it was far from silent in the Yamato Arena as the WBC International and Youth World champion emphatically finished a tough, gritty opponent following a great display of technical boxing.
It was malicious and magnificent from the 24-year-old Hennessy fighter, as he cemented his status as tournament favourite and set up a mouthwatering semi-final with Kieron Conway with a beat down that ended in a tenth-round stoppage.
The 8 time National Champion started as he meant to go on, opening up with blistering a pace in the first round against the unbeaten Estela, ripping mean hooks to the body followed by an inch-perfect right uppercut midway through the round.
McKenna was on the wrong end of a looping right hand at the end of the first round, which appeared to stun the LA-based Irishman, perhaps serving as a wakeup call that the ‘Silencer’ quickly bounced back from in the second round.
By the fourth round, Estela definitely seemed to feel the pace that McKenna set, as the Puerto Rican–American came out swinging for the fences to no avail, as McKenna mixed up his strikes beautifully, landing a barrage of hooks both to the body and head of Estela.
Starting as he finished in the fourth, McKenna was back to the well, throwing combination strikes with conviction, landing six consecutive left hooks on Estella without a response.
McKenna’s onslaught continued throughout the sixth round, showcasing yet again unrelenting pace and pressure, whilst also mixing up his shots impeccably with a beautiful left uppercut followed by a piston-like straight right-hand.
Ramping up his activity as the rounds went on, all Estela could do was try and clinch with McKenna, an effort which the Monaghan man capitalised on with devasting hooks to the midsection throughout the seventh and eight, before Estela opened a cut on the brow of McKenna with a clean left hook, his first significant land on the Irishman since the first round.
History once again repeated itself as the 24-year-old again landed three consecutive left hooks to the head of his opponent in the ninth, before dragging Estela into deeper water, with the referee stepping in two minutes into the tenth round following multiple unanswered strikes which McKenna finished with a patented right hand that he found a home for very early on in the bout.
The ‘Silencer’s victory this morning not only secures him a coveted slot in Prizefighter’s semi-final against Kieron Conway, taking him one step closer to the $1 million for the winner of the tournament, but an extra $100,000 for finishing his opponent.
