McKenna impresses in Liverpool and calls out Eubank Jnr

Aaron McKenna earned a sixth-round stoppage victory against Mickey Ellison in the first defence of his WBC International Middleweight title on Saturday night - and immediately set his sights on a showdown with Chris Eubank Jnr.

The 24-year-old - performing on the undercard of the Natasha Jonas-Mikaela Mayer welterweight world title bout - moved to 18-0 at the Echo Arena in Liverpool.

McKenna has ben slated to take on Linus Udofia, but he pulled out of the bout citing illness.

Up stepped 33-year-old Ellison, who had a record of 14-6 before tonight. However he proved no match for 'The Silencer', Ellison's corner throwing in the towel towards the end of the sixth with their fighter taking heavy punishment.

Afterwards, Monaghan native McKenna told Sky Sports: "It's very hard for me to get matched so I think I need to get the top fights now. I think I'm the most avoided middleweight in the world, and a fighter who's avoided as he says, Chris Eubank Jnr, if he's struggling to get a fight I'll step up.

"I'll skip straight to the world level and repeat history. His father went over to Ireland and got beaten by an Irishman. Let's recreate history."

In the main event in Liverpool, Jonas was pushed to the limit but retained her IBF welterweight crown with a razor-thin split decision victory over American rival Mayer in a thriller.

Jonas started strongly in the first defence of the world title she won by defeating Kandi Wyatt last July but Mayer steadily grew into the bout and was the busier of the two in several riveting exchanges.

It was an all-action affair but, despite being left with a cut below her left eye, Jonas, who raised her arm aloft at the final bell, was given the nod 96-94 and 96-95 as a third judge sided with Mayer 97-93.

The result divided opinion on social media but, after Jonas extended her record to 15 wins and two defeats with one draw in her home city, she indicated 2024 will be her final year in the sport.

The 39-year-old has won six fights in a row since long-time rival Katie Taylor defeated her on points in May 2021, becoming a unified world light-middleweight champion before stepping down to reign at 147lbs.

Additional reporting: PA