| Coventry, UK (20 May 2021) Undefeated Irish ‘Hitman’ Stephen McKenna is lining up British rival Conor Benn in his sights for a mouthwatering England v Ireland showdown. The welterweight ace from County Monaghan has dispatched of all seven of his opponents with cold and clinical efficiency and goes for his eighth target this Saturday (22 May) at the Coventry Skydome Arena. McKenna features on the undercard of Sam Eggington and Carlos Molina’s clash for the Vacant WBC Silver Middleweight Championship against Poland’s Damian Haus and such is the growing reputation of the fast-rising young talent, he will open the show on the Channel 5 live broadcast. The 24-year-old has the unbeaten Essex ‘Destroyer’ at the top of his hit list and predicts a fight with the current WBA Continental Champion next year in a potential thriller. And McKenna says it doesn’t bode well for Benn Jr. fighting the best young talent from the Emerald Isle with his father, fight legend Nigel, beaten twice and retired by the Irish fight great Steve Collins. “It’s the fight I’m looking for and I’d love to get Conor Benn into the ring,” Stated McKenna. “It would be a dangerous fight for him and I think that Eddie Hearn would know that. It would be too dangerous for him as Benn hasn’t come up against a puncher yet and he wouldn’t make it past four, five or six rounds against me. I’d get him out of there really quick.” “I’ve been watching him and seeing a lot of flaws and once he comes up against a guy like me he’s going to end up on his back. I’m still progressing and after a couple more fights we could make it happen, maybe next year. It would be a great fight that would capture the attention of the English and Irish fans.” “I’m still 7-0 and he’s 18-0, I know that if I fought him now I’d beat him, but after some more fights then next year I’d love to get the fight.” “Wherever he’d want to do it, in England or in Ireland, he’ll end up like his dad and getting beat by another Irishman. I’d just love to get him into the ring. You can see he leads with his emotions and he’s crying before fights and he’s very emotional. The minute he gets in the ring with me he’ll know what he’s in for.” |
| Presented by Hennessy Sports in association with William Hill, Infinitum, Numan, Everlast and King Carlos Promotions, Eggington v Molina will headline the exciting nine-fight card exclusively live and free-to-air across the UK and Ireland on Channel 5. |
| Main event features Birmingham warrior Sam Eggington (29-7-0, 17 KO’s) against Mexico’s hard-as-nails Carlos Molina (37-11-2, 12 KO’s) for the Vacant WBC Silver Middleweight Championship. Chief support features a cracking showdown between Birmingham’s Kaisee Benjamin (11-1-1, 2 KO’s) and Dumbarton’s Martin Harkin (13-1-0, 5 KO’s) in an Eliminator for the British Welterweight Championship. |
| Also on the card, Coventry sensation River Wilson-Bent (8-0-0, 4 KO’s) makes the first defence of his Midlands Area Middleweight title against Derby’s George Farrell (5-0-0, 1 KO). Former British Light-Heavyweight Champion Shakan Pitters (14-1-0, 4 KO’s) has his first back against Bradford’s Jermaine Springer (7-2-0, 1 KO)in an eight-rounder since losing his title to Craig Richards last December. County Monaghan super-lightweight dynamo Stephen ‘The Hitman’ McKenna (7-0-0, 7 KO’s) features in a six-rounder against Poland’s Damian Haus, but the undefeated red-hot 24-year-old prospect has not needed to go the distance yet with all his fights ending inside. Birmingham middleweight bombshell Idris ‘The Bodybreaker’ Virgo (9-0-1, 1 KO) goes in over six-rounds against Lydney’s Lewis van Poetsch. Sevenoaks all-action super-welterweight Michael Hennessy Jr. (5-1-1) is in a six-rounder against Warminster’s Paul Cummings. Irish super-welterweight ace Brett McGinty (1-0) follows up his thrilling pro debut last December when he features in a four-rounder against Oldbury’s Dwain Grant. Brighton heavyweight talent Tommy Welch (1-0-0, 1 KO), son of the former British, Commonwealth and World Heavyweight title challenger Scott, follow’s up his explosive debut last December when he stopped Matt Gordon in the second round and features in a four-round contest against Lithuanian Dmitrij Kalinovskij. |
| For further information go to www.hennessysports.com or social media: Facebook @HennessySports, Twitter @HennessySports and Instagram @hennessysports |
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