BOXING up at welterweight means Tyrone McKenna doesn’t have to boil that six foot-plus frame of his all the way down to 140lbs now and the Belfast warrior says the extra seven pounds he has to play with have left him in much better shape to take on Chris Jenkins at the SSE Arena on August 6.
Jenkins is no stranger to Irish fight fans. The Welshman beat Phil Sutcliffe junior at the Titanic Exhibition Centre in 2016 when many at ringside disagreed with the decision and there was more controversy when he fought Paddy Gallagher at Fall’s Park in 2019.
The British and Commonwealth titles were on the line that night and there were howls of derision when Jenkins – who was dropped early on by ‘Padman’ – was ruled the winner on the scorecards.
McKenna doesn’t want the ringside judges to have any input into the decision this time. He is predicting blood on August 6 and intends to batter his way to the 23rd win in his 27th contest.
“I’ve trained hard and I’m happy that I’ve moved up weight,” said the Pete Taylor-trained ‘Mighty Celt’.
“Usually during camp I’m concentrating on how much weight I have to lose and it plays on your mind a lot. This time I still have to lose weight but my mind isn’t taken up with it, I can focus on what needs to be done and getting the proper rounds in sparring. I don’t have to think about weight all the time and I’m hoping I can get to a new level when I’m in the ring now.”
Both men are going into the fight after losses against quality opposition. Jenkins was stopped in the fourth round by Albanian Florian Marku in April while McKenna lost to former light-welterweight champion Regis Prograis in March.
“I know Jenkins is a game fighter,” said McKenna.
“He comes and he gives it a go and if he doesn’t win he’s always close to winning. He’s an exciting fighter and that’s why I said ‘yes’ to him, I want to be in exciting fights and I think he brings a level of excitement.”
Neither fighter will need to go looking for their opponent next week. McKenna says he is prepared for every question Jenkins will ask of him on the undercard of Michael Conlan versus Miguel Marriaga.
“I know it’s going to be entertaining for the fans,” he said.
“I think the first four rounds might be tit-for-tat and to-and-fro but in the later rounds I think I’ll overwhelm him and out-work him. Whatever way the fight pans out, it’s going to be exciting, it’s going to be standing and trading. We’re both susceptible to cuts so I think there’s going to be a lot of blood in this fight.
“Any time I’m in Belfast, with the crowds that come and the support I always have, it feels like I’ve got that extra bit of support when I’m in the ring. Boxing is a lonely sport but when you get that type of support behind you and when it gets tough in the ring you have that extra push behind you.”
Having been in with Prograis, McKenna is confident that he now has the experience he needs to back-up his ability and fighting heart. Victory at the SSE Arena will propel him into the world title mix.
“As soon as I beat Chris Jenkins I’ll have a glass of wine and start calling out every welterweight on the planet,” he added with a chuckle.
“Welterweight is a stacked division and there’s a lot of good fights I’d be interested in – Conor Benn is one – that would be huge – and Marku would be another one.”
