Coventry, UK (21 May 2021) Red hot Irish ace Stephen McKenna didn’t waste any time and made it another sensational first round stoppage to take his record to a perfect 8 fights and 8 knockouts with five now coming in the opening round.

The undefeated ace pounced straight onto Polands’s Damian Haus, continually chopping him down with vicious body shots and scything right hands. A sickening left hook dropped Haus, who managed to rise before the ref’s count of eight. McKenna didn’t let him off the hook and another violent onslaught followed and the referee waved it off with only eight seconds left.

McKenna, who is gunning for a showdown with British star Nigel Benn, said, “I love to fight, I don’t care who’s there in front of me, I’m going to take them out with either hand. I saw that Haus was getting hurt with the body shots and I wouldn’t let him off the hook until I finished him off. I’m pleased with the result but there is plenty more to come.”

Afterwards Haus, who had sickening red welts all over his body where McKenna had landed his brutal shots, said, “That is the hardest I have ever been hit in my life. I have never felt power like that before.”

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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.”

Stevie McKenna: “You haven’t yet seen the best of me”
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

London, UK (7 May 2021) Red hot Irish prospect Stephen McKenna has just completed the most beneficial sparring camp of his career with IBF & WBA Super World Super Lightweight Champion Josh Taylor ahead of the Scotsman’s mega fight with the WBC & WBO World Champion Jose Ramirez.

The undefeated young talent from Smithborough, County Monaghan, has been racking up the rounds with Taylor this last week in Las Vegas before the two unified World Champions collide in one of the biggest fights of the year on Saturday 22nd May.

‘The Hitman’ has previously shared two training camps with Ramirez where he sparred nearly 100 rounds in total with the American, which has given the fast-rising young star plenty of crucial and valuable learning experiences as he makes rapid progress in his own career.

McKenna won’t be at the fight, though, as he has his own fight lined up on the same night back in the UK when he features on his promoter Mick Hennessy’s big show at the Coventry Skydome Arena, headlined with the all-out war between Sam Eggington and Carlos Molina for the Vacant WBC Silver Middleweight Championship, live and free on Channel 5.

Along with father and trainer Fergal and younger brother and top undefeated super-welterweight prospect Aaron, the fighting family first went to Mexico to train before heading to Los Angeles and then finishing off in Las Vegas.

McKenna is now desperate to get back in the ring with his last fight in December ending in a third round knockout of Devon’s durable Des Newton and hopes to show off what he’s learnt and the improvements made from his sparring with Taylor.

He said, “It’s great to be a part of Josh’s preparations for his fight with Jose Ramirez and it’s fantastic work for me to get in there with someone of Josh’s calibre, a man who’s a unified World champion and going for all the titles. It’s brilliant experience for me and I couldn’t be getting any better work in the gym than with him and I’m really in top form for my fight on May 22nd,”

“I’ve also sparred with Ramirez for a few training camps so I’ve been in the ring with the both of them. They’re two different style of fighters and its going to be a cracking fight and a fight of the year contender, no doubt about it, I’m really looking forward to it. It’s hard to say who’s going to win it but all I know is that it’s going to be a great, great, fight.”

“With Josh I’ve done nearly forty rounds and with the two training camps with Ramirez, nearly eighty rounds, so I I did a lot of work with Ramirez also, he’s a great fighter, the same with Josh. I know that I can go in and mix it with these guys and I’m up there at that level, I’m just really looking forward to getting up to the next level and then fighting for world titles.”

The 24-year-old has raised eyebrows with his ice-cold demeanour and frightening display of power-punching that has seen him establish a perfect seven fight record with seven knockouts. All of his wins have come inside five rounds with four of those in the opening round that has singled him out as one of the best and most exciting young fighters to keep an eye on in 2021.

McKenna continued, “I’m getting all the experience I need in the gym, when I go into a fight I go in there to knock people out and get the job done. I’m not really interested in going rounds in fights because I’m getting it in the gym sparring with world class fighters and I have been for the last couple of years to really learn the the game. Anytime I go into fight I’m going in for the knockout,”

“Just sharing the ring with Josh, he’s a different style of fighter to Ramirez, he’s a southpaw and very sharp. It’s about adapting to change my style of fighting, I can box on the front foot, I can stand off, I can change. I have many different ways of fighting different guys, southpaw or orthodox, I can box when I need to box and fight when I need to fight, it’s just about learning from Josh and seeing what level I’m at to be sharing a ring with him,”

“I’ll be heading back to Ireland on Sunday. On this trip we’ve been to Mexico, LA and finished in Vegas. I’m in the best shape of my career, I’ve improved so much, I just can’t wait to be back in the ring and live on Channel 5.”

Fergal is delighted with the trip and believes the experience will have benefitted his son no end as Stephen’s career steps up towards Championship contention. He said, “Stephen has been a benefit to Josh, he’s similar to Ramirez with his aggressive nature. When you bear in mind he helped Ramirez prepare, Stephen’s in a unique position to know both fighters, Ramirez is rough and rugged whereas Josh is very technical and has the speed,”

“It has given Josh a good opportunity to practice for the fight. It’s really interesting to see how Josh prepares and handles things and it’s another learning experience for Stephen to be mixing in this calibre. It’s only a matter of time until Stephen’s there at the top,”

“This was a real good move for us to come down to Vegas to get Josh. It was getting a bit stale in LA, no one wanted to spar and they were asking for money to spar with Stephen. When we got the offer to come down and spar with Josh, we said we’ll take it as it will fix the problem we have and we tied in with another gym to accommodate Aaron,”

“It’s the confidence the fighter gains for mixing at that level and it is what someone like Steven gets out of this training camp so he’s coming away knowing that in his next fight he’s been in Josh Taylor’s training camp. Stephen’s in tremendous shape, he’s probably in the best shape I’ve ever seen him in and probably at the fittest I’ve ever seen him in.”

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 (Subject to BBBofC approval).

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, 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. 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 Birmingham’s Josh Hodgins. 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.

For further information go to www.hennessysports.com or social media: Facebook @HennessySports, Twitter @HennessySports and Instagram @hennessysports

Redditch, UK (19 December 2020) Promoter Mick Hennessy closed the year last night with an exciting all-action show full of drama and knockouts from the Fly By Night TV studio in Redditch, Worcestershire, to viewers live on Channel 5 in the UK and via a live stream available around the world.

6 x 3 Rounds Middleweight Contest
Brett McGinty WPTS6 (59-56) Jan Ardon
Hennessy’s new signing Brett McGinty made a successful start to his pro career with a points win over the tough Czech born and Manchester based Jan Ardon. The Monaghan talent went in over six rounds instead of the usual four for a pro-debutant. Ardon was a late replacement and a heavier opponent and a big test for someones debut, but McGinty worked well to the head and body and showed his class. He was caught in the fourth and momentarily stunned but got through it and had to fight hard in the last two rounds to get a great win on is debut.

6 x 3 Rounds Middleweight Contest
Idris Virgo WPTS6 (60-54) Kearon Thomas
Unbeaten Birmingham middleweight maintained his unbeaten record with a 60-54 points victory over Walsall’s Kearon Thomas. Virgo hurt Thomas with a good body shot in the second round but Thomas managed to recover and get through it with Virgo looking to finish him off. In the fifth Virgo landed a low blow that had Thomas take some time to recover from. Virgo kept up the attack until the end to get his hand raised and his did his customary bow to the cameras.

6 x 3 Rounds Super Super-Lightweight Contest
Stephen McKenna WTKO3 (Time: 0:36) Des Newton
Irish super-lightweight ace Stephen McKenna ended his year with a knockout performance, flattening Bere Alston’s experienced Des Newton in the third round. McKenna started fast and hard throwing big bombs to head and body as he looked to get the tough Newton out early until he landed a big right hand in the third round. The undefeated Monahan Hitman took his record to a perfect 7-0 with 7 knockouts and now looks ahead to a big year in 2021 with the world’s eyes on the young talent as he progresses.

6 x 3 Rounds Super-Flyweight Contest
Sammy Cantwell LTKO6 (Time: 0:49) Stephen Jackson
In an entertaining hard fought contest, super-flyweight Sammy Cantwell, son of the popular 90s British Flyweight Champion and four-time World Title Challenger, Mickey, was stopped in the final round by Manchester’s pro-debutant Stephen Jackson. Cantwell was due to fight Ricky Little for the Southern Area title, but Little withdrew earlier in the week due to medical reasons (non-COVID) with Jackson coming in at late notice. Cantwell fought well considering he had been out of the ring for two years and at times he hurt Jackson. It was a gutsy and gritty performance from Cantwell, with Jackson also landing eye catching punches and hard combinations. In the sixth Jackson landed a big right hand and hurt Cantwell with more shots before the referee halted the action.

10 x 3 Rounds Midlands Area Middleweight Title
River Wilson Bent WKO3 (Time: 1:42) Troy Coleman
In the most explosive knockout of the night and certainly a contender for KO of the year, Coventry’s River Wilson Bent landed a huge right hand in the third round that had Burntwood’s Coleman out before he hit the canvas. Coleman tried bravely to get to his feet, but the referee waved it off at the count of ten. Unbeaten Bent claimed the Midlands Area Middleweight title and marked himself out as a big-hitting contender in the division.

12 x 3 British Light Heavyweight Title
Shakan Pitters LTKO9 (Time: 2:42) Craig Richards
In the main event, fierce light-heavyweight rival Shakan Pitters and Craig Richards delivered an exciting fight to end the year. Pitters, making the first defence of his British title that he won against Chad Sugden in August, was stopped in the ninth round in a real humdinger of a battle that was swinging in momentum. Pitters started the fight well, controlling with his long jab and keeping Crystal Palace’s Richards at a distance, but in the fourth round Richards landed a big right that rocked Pitters and followed that with a right hook that floored the Birmingham man. Getting up at three, Pitters went on the move with Richards moving in to try and find a shot to finish him off, but he survived the round. Re-establishing himself, Pitters then got back to work in the fifth and landed a good right hand at the end of the sixth. In the seventh and eighth, both landed good shots on each other with the fight very tight on points, but in the ninth Richards stepped it up and landed a big right hook to drop Pitters on the ropes. With Pitters hurt, Richards landed a left hook that floored him heavily, bravely up at the count of seven he was still on shaky legs and the referee Victor Loughlin called it off. Pitters will now take time to recover over the Christmas period and plot his route back next year.

*Sevenoaks middleweight Michael Hennessy Jr. had to withdraw from his fight against Kevin McCauley just before the contest during the warm up after damaging his left hand on the pads. Hennessy hurt it in his fight last week against Dale Arrowsmith and had been receiving physiotherapy treatment during the week which left him feeling good to fight. but when he started hitting the pads heavily the hand injured again. His team felt it would be in his best interest to withdraw.

For further information go to www.hennessysports.com or social media: Facebook @HennessySports, Twitter @HennessySports and Instagram @hennessysports

London, UK (25 August 2020) Promoter Mick Hennessy is thrilled to announce that one of the emerging young stars of World boxing, Stephen ‘Hitman’ McKenna, will make his UK debut on his 5th September show, live on free-to-air Channel 5.

Red-hot Irish talent McKenna will feature on the undercard of Alex Dilmaghani’s European Super-Featherweight title challenge against champion Samir Ziani, courtesy of his management team Sheer Sports. His opponent will be Gateshead’s Kris Pilkington in a six round contest.

The hard-hitting 24-year-old super-lightweight prospect is certainly living up to his Hitman moniker. Undefeated in four fights since turning professional last year, McKenna has won them all by KO inside two rounds, three coming in the first.

From Monaghan in Ireland, McKenna comes from a very strong boxing family of brothers alongside Gary and Aaron who all represented Ireland at International level winning medals. Now based in Woodhills, California, he is trained by the legendary Freddie Roach at the Wild Card Gym.

McKenna was a standout amateur produced by the Irish Boxing Association with a career record of 155 fights and only 24 losses. Astonishingly, he won the Irish U/18 youth title, Multi Nation Bronze in Russia, Commonwealth Youth Gold in Samoa, European youth silver in Poland and was crowned Irish Elite Senior Champion all in the same year.

Prior to moving to Los Angeles in 2018, McKenna had been training with the Irish Elite team full time at the High Performance center in Dublin for three years.

Despite only having four fights and less than five rounds of action, McKenna has gained valuable experience sparring with pound-for-pound best Vasily Lomachenko, plus top fighters Sergey Lipinets, Jose Zepeda, Hikori Okada, Antonio Orozco, Javier Molina, Lee Selby and Ryan Garcia.

McKenna is excited to fight in the UK for the first time as a professional. He said, “The Hitman is ready! I’m looking forward to making my first appearance in the UK with Hennessy Sports. I’m in really good shape and ready to put on an exciting show. I’m delighted to be fighting on free TV in the UK on Channel 5. It’s a fantastic opportunity for my friends, family and fans to finally see me in action. This is just the platform I need to build my stock. I can’t wait.”

Sheer Sports V.P Lyle Green, said: “Stevie McKenna is the best, most exciting up and coming fighter in boxing. Thank you to Mick Hennessy for giving Stevie a chance to showcase his world class talent in front of the entire UK and Ireland on September 5th live on Channel 5. He will not disappoint.”

Hennessy added, “This is a real honour to have this talented young man feature on my September 5th event. I’d like to thank Sheer Sports for allowing Stevie to fight on the card and I’m sure he will go down a storm with fans and viewers here. I’ve been well aware of Stephen’s quality and credentials for many years due to my close links with the Irish boxing scene and also knowing his family. He is one of the most exciting boxers to emerge from Ireland in recent years. I’m absolutely thrilled he’s going to fight on my show and what a night it will be with Alex challenging for the European title, Isaac continuing his momentum in the cruiserweight division, the Southern Area Super-Flyweight Championship between Ricky Little and Sammy Cantwell, plus my son Michael will fight Jamie Stewart, and Idris Virgo returns after his stunning one punch body knockout last Saturday night.”