Aaron McKenna has revealed that he has sparred with pound-for-pound great Terence Crawford, who was highly impressed with the undefeated 25-year-old from Ireland. McKenna, who boasts an undefeated record of 19-0, is set to face former world champion Liam Smith on Saturday night on the undercard of Eubank Jr vs Benn at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
According to talkSPORT, McKenna earned the right to spar with Crawford, a current WBA world champion at super-welterweight, during a training session last summer. McKenna revealed that Crawford came up to him after the spar and expressed his admiration for the Irishman’s skills.
“I sparred with Crawford last summer and Crawford was very impressed with me,” McKenna said in an interview with talkSPORT. “After the spar he came up to and said how impressed he was with me. In between the rounds when I was sparring, Crawford came in between and gave me advice, saying ‘Do this, do that.’ It was great to hear those sorts of words from a guy like Terence Crawford.”
McKenna, also known as ‘The Silencer’, is bidding to claim the WBA international middleweight belt against Liverpool’s Smith, who has nine rounds with Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez and a stoppage over Chris Eubank Jr under his belt. The Irishman is confident that he has the skills to overcome Smith and believes that fighting in front of over 60,000 people will be a great experience for his future career in the squared circle.
“This will be the best opponent I’ve had yet,” he added. “Every time I’ve had a step up I’ve come through it quite easily. This is a good test for me at this stage of my career. It’s a fight I’ve needed for a couple of years, one that I’ve wanted. It’ll bring the best out of me. I know it will. 65,000 people, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. It’s going to be rocking. I think it’s going to be a great atmosphere.”
McKenna’s journey to the top has been far from straightforward. At 16, he moved to Los Angeles and became Ireland’s youngest ever professional fighter two years later. He has clocked ten KO’s in his 19 victories as a professional, but has faced numerous setbacks, including the cancellation of a tournament where the winner would have pocketed a huge $1million.
Speaking to the Irish Mirror, McKenna added that he has been constantly forced to overcome adversity, but never lets it get in his way. “This has been happening to me right since the very first day,” he said. “I was supposed to make my pro debut at Madison Square Garden, the big arena. I was supposed to be the youngest ever to ever fight there and then just the night before the fight it got cancelled so that was a tough pill to swallow. I’m well used to it now and then it just happened more and more regularly, but it’s the sport of boxing and these things happen and you just have to get used to it and not let it affect you.”
In his conversation with talkSPORT, McKenna also shared his thoughts on the headline act on Saturday night, where Conor Benn faces Chris Eubank Jr. McKenna believes that Benn can overcome Eubank Jr, but added that Eubank Jr ‘will take over’ the fight if it gets past the first five rounds.
The event, which promises to be an all-time British boxing spectacle, is set to take place on Saturday night at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. talkSPORT will provide live coverage of the event.
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