Stevie McKenna Warns Step Up Foe ‘The Power is Very Real’
Stevie McKenna warns the ‘the power is very real’ ahead of his step-up fight live on Channel 5 tonight.
The Monaghan puncher takes on French fighter Moussa Gary [11(3)-2(1)-2] on the Hennessy Sports card hoping to make it nine knockout wins on the trot.
Since debuting at light welterweight in April 2019, McKenna has flattened all eight victims long before the cards were called. Five faltered in the opening session and, with six succumbing to the full 10 count, the evidence suggests savage Stevie carries a real kayo kick rather than just profiting from overly cautious matchmaking.
Tonight’s fight should put that theory to the test. Gary has more wins to his name than McKenna has fights, 11, has only been stopped once in three defeats and certainly represents a step up for the Smithborough smasher.
If the 24-year-old were to stop his continental counterpart it would be a real endorsement of the much talked about power.
‘The power is very real,’ warns a man who has done copious sparring rounds with world grade talents such as Josh Taylor, Jose Ramirez, Vasyl Lomachenko and Ryan Garcia
‘It’s down to years of hard work plus my natural leverage. It’s a combination of precision, timing, speed and accuracy,” he adds before suggesting a killer instinct also plays a part.
Weigh-in Done ✅
— Stevie McKenna (@stevie_mckenna) September 9, 2021
Ready for action tomorrow night 💪🏻💥Catch me live on @Channel5Sport at 10pm 🥊 @HennessySports pic.twitter.com/S9mV8NO7Rm
“Plus mindset. You obviously hope everyone goes home safely to their family but, it’s the hurt business and, whenever I step inside that ring, my aim is to throw every punch with bad intent. If I stun them, I look to take their head off.’
With 179 amateur contests on his CV, many in the international singlet, the former Commonwealth Youth champion and European Youth finalist is not unduly concerned by the lack of rounds on his pro ledger.
“It’d be good to go some rounds but I’ll not be dragging fights unnecessarily,’ states McKenna, who made his pro debut in a bull fighting arena in Pico Rivera, California.
“Every fight, I train as if I need to go the 10 or 12 round distance. There’ll always be one who could take my shots – though I doubt for 12 rounds – and you could always get cut and have a No Contest or a loss. If I clip my opponent, I’m not messing around. Eventually, I’ll get to all of them.”
