Are you turning professional?
Iโm turning professional. I signed a management deal with Sheer Sports. Iโll be making my debut in February. I think itโll be in LA, Iโm not too sure yet.
What were your highlights as an amateur?
I won an Irish Elite title in 2016 and I won the Youth Commonwealth Games gold and a European Youth silver medal. Iโve a good bit of amateur experience, over 155 bouts and Iโve fought for Ireland over 40, 50 times.
Why did you decide to turn professional?
I think it was the right time to pro for me anyway. The Olympics is in 2020. So Iโm 21 and I think itโs the perfect time to turn pro. My brother [Aaron McKenna], heโs turned pro and heโs only 19. Iโm seeing how well heโs doing so I think this is the perfect time to make the move. Heโs been doing brilliant. Heโs 6-0 now.
With Olympic boxing being in a mess, no one knows what the qualification route is going to be, no one knows whatโs going to happen to Olympic boxing itself, did that help make your decision?
Thatโs it. You could be training for all them years and even a bad decision or a cut or anything can happen. Itโs a big risk, I think, waiting and then the Olympics might not even be on. You donโt know.
Do you think already thereโs a drain of talent of boxers who would normally wait for the Olympics?
A lot of guys seem to be turning pro now. A lot of ones that would have waited. A lot of people are trying to make the move. Theyโve seen whatโs happened to other boxers in the Olympics. Like Michael Conlan, what happened to him that time. They donโt want to take the risk, they just want to turn pro.
Was boxing a big part of your family?
Thereโs three of us, I have an older brother as well. He was an Irish champion as well. Weโre all Irish champions growing up and we were all on the Irish team. Weโve been boxing all our lives. My dad, he trains us. Heโs been coaching us all these years. Boxing has been a part of our whole lives.
Stevie McKenna has been sparring Vasyl Lomachenko, read what he has to say about the brilliant Ukrainian in the latest edition of Boxing News magazine