‘There is a reason I’m the favourite’ – Aaron McKenna has his eyes on the Prizefighter prize
Aaron McKenna believes he will take the first major step to proving he is the best fighter in the world this morning.
The Monaghan middleweight fights Jeovanny Estela in the first round of the re-modeled Prizefighter tournament in Osaka, Japan today.
The assured ‘Silencer’ isn’t just confident he’ll get the better of the undefeated American, but believes he will emerge victorious from the eight-man tournament to take home a $1 million prize fund and put himself in the world title frame.
In fact, he is confident the tournament will set him on a path to pound-for-pound status
“It’s an exciting PrizeFighter tournament that goes back years and it excites the fans as well and also the prize fund; it’s a massive opportunity,” McKenna said.
“It puts you in line to fight for a World Title maybe. I’ve got all of those things in my head and I believe I’m the best fighter in the world.
“I know what I can do in the ring. This is a life-changing opportunity for me. Winning this tournament puts you in a very strong position to fight anyone in the world and get even bigger fights and purses. This is the start of success for my career.”
The tournament comes at the perfect time for the 24-year-old, who has impressed anytime he’s fought but has struggled to get the desired level of momentum into his career.
Prizefighter, and the platform it provides, can change that and provides him with a chance to set about fulfilling his potential.
“It was hard for me to get fights in the past, I’ve had a lot of pull-outs late on like the last seven or eight fights, it’s been pull-out after pull-out on late notice. This tournament, all of the fighters are coming believing that they can win, so it’s going to bring really entertaining fights for the fans,” he comments before discussing the fact he holds the favourites tag.
“There’s a reason why I’m the favourite; because I’m the best.
“I think my experience across the world, I’ve travelled all over the world. I’ve been in America for four years, spent four years over there and trained in Robert Garcia’s gym for a year and Freddie Roach’s gym for a year. I’ve been to Vegas and Mexico, nearly sparred literally everyone in the world that there is to spar. I’m 18-0, 24, young fighter, hungry. Just for this camp alone I’ve been sparring Terrence Crawford and his camp. Being around the Terrence Crawford fight gives me some amount of confidence and experience.”
