Shutout Not Knockout for Stevie McKenna
Stephen McKenna’s two-year knockout streak was put to an end by durable Frenchman Moussa Gary in Coventry tonight.
The Monaghan fighter managed to maintain his unbeaten start to life as a professional boxer but wasn’t able to make it nine wins inside the distance on the bounce.
French fighter Moussa Gray proved durable as well as awkward for the early night lover over six learning rounds. The Sheer Sports managed fighter did secure a shut-out points win, winning every round but saw the final bell for the first time in his career.
The ambitious 24-year-old welter will be somewhat disappointed he couldn’t keep his rampant run going but will take solace from doing six at a good pace and from the learning done.
The 26-year-old, who was fighting outside of France for only the third time gave excellent experience to the ‘The Hitman’ who brought tremendous traveling support to the Skydome in Coventry.
McKenna, known for his non-stop action and deadly power, struggled to get into a rhythm against the awkward Gary. The Continental fighter also fired back at the Smirthborough native more used to having things entirely his own way – and asked questions of the entertaining emerging talent Live on Channel 5.
The bodywork of McKenna was his best asset in this fight but he failed to put his opponent down even after landing big heavy accurate shots, something many will argue wasn’t a bad thing. The more traditional fan will rejoice in a challenging night pointing out McKenna won and learnt in a fight that will benefit much more than another early knockout.
After six rounds, the scorecard read 60-54, and ‘The Hitman’ progresses on towards an even bigger step up next time out, a potentially a shot at a title.
The wins see’s McKenna improve 9-0 with eight knockouts while Gary slips to 11-4-1.
