Aaron McKenna vs. Etinosa Oliha | Sky Sports - 8 August 2026

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Etinosa Oliha and Aaron McKenna ordered to fight for vacant IBF middleweight title

Aaron McKenna and Etinosa Oliha have been ordered by the IBF to fight for the sanctioning body's vacant middleweight title, Brunch Boxing reports.

Both parties have 30 days to agree a deal. Should that not be reached, it will go to purse bids.

Italy's Oliha, 22-0 (10 KOs), is yet to prove himself at world level. The same might be said for McKenna, 20-0 (10 KOs), but the Los Angeles-based Irishman did achieve a lopsided 12-round points victory over the fading Liam Smith in his most recent bout 11 months ago on the undercard of the first clash between Chris Eubank Jnr and Conor Benn.

McKenna fills the void left by Shakiel Thompson, who had been nominated to tackle Oliha only to get knocked out, this past weekend, by Brad Pauls in a minor upset.

The title is vacant after it was stripped from Janibek Alimkhanuly due to a doping violation that cancelled a bout with Erislandy Lara. As well as a six-month ban being issued by Kazakhstan Professional Boxing Federation, the fighter was also handed 12-month bans by both the IBF and the WBO, who also recognized Alimkhanuly as its beltholder at 160lbs. Consequently, he was unable to fulfil mandatory requirements from the IBF.

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AARON MCKENNA, ETINOSA OLIHA ORDERED TO FIGHT FOR VACANT IBF TITLE

The IBF have ordered Aaron McKenna and Etinosa Oliha to fight for its vacant middleweight title.

The pair have 30 days to come to an agreement or purse bids will be called.

Janibek Alimkhanuly (17-0, 12 KOs) was stripped of the title after failing a drug test in the lead up to his unification clash against Erislandy Lara in December. Meldonium was the substance found in Alimkhanuly's system.

McKenna (20-0, 10 KOs), ranked No. 7 by The Ring at middleweight, picked up the finest win of his career against a former world champion when he grabbed a wide points victory over Liam Smith last April.

Oliha (22-0, 10 KOs) is The Ring’s No. 6 ranked middleweight. Now entering the eighth year of his professional career, the 27-year-old has fought mostly underwhelming opposition. In his last outing, Oliha scored a third-round stoppage win over Ivan Njegac, a fighter with 19 wins and 33 defeats.

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I'm kind of disappointed Pauls didn't get the offer after KOing Thompson but not entirely surprised that he was slighted.

I lean towards McKenna taking this one, although Oliha is definitely an unknown commodity. While both boxers are undefeated but without a lot of KOs on their records, I believe the Irishman has fought better competition and that experience will carry him through to the IBF title.

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Let's hope this gets done.

I think Stephen was at WrestleMania over the weekend, so I have a feeling he will be joining Zuffa

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MCKENNA-OLIHA ON AUG 8

Aaron McKenna will face Etinosa Oliha on August 8 for the vacant IBF middleweight title. The fight is expected to be the co-feature for a Zuffa Boxing and Sky Sports card headlined by Callum Walsh in Dublin.

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Aaron McKenna vs. Etinosa Oliha for vacant title

Aaron McKenna, The Ring’s No. 6 middleweight and the IBF’s No. 3 contender, takes on Etinosa Oliha, ranked No. 5 by Ring and No. 2 by the IBF, on August 8 at an undisclosed venue.

McKenna vs. Oliha will be the co-feature of a Zuffa card with Callum Walsh headlining the main event. Walsh’s opponent has not been announced.

McKenna, a native of Monaghan, Ireland, fought only once last year but grabbed the best win of his career, a lopsided points win over faded former champion Liam Smith.

Similarly, Oliha spent most of his 2025 on the bench. When he finally jumped into the ring last September, he scored a quick third-round KO over Ivan Njegac. Njegac came into their contest with a record of 19-33.

The title became vacant when Janibek Alimkhanuly was stripped of his IBF title because of a failed 2025 drug test.

Amari Jones, who’s coming off a third-round KO over Vincenzo Gualtieri, is the mandatory for the winner.