McKenna immediately vowed to clean up what he described as the mess in the division, which currently has four different men claiming to be world champion.

As such, he is targeting unifications against the three other belt holders and even suggested a jump up to super middleweight if unable to secure the sort of opponent he craves.

So the Monaghan-born Zuffa Boxing star has plenty of options for his next fight, which is likely to land before 2026 is out. We take a look at the runners and riders, some good, some bad, some ugly.

AMARI JONES (17-0, 15 KOs) Whether he likes it or not, McKenna might just have to face promising mandatory challenger Jones next to keep his belt. The 24-year-old is No. 1 with the IBF and cemented that position by stopping Vincenzo Gualtieri in the third round of their San Jose showdown in May.

Should Zuffa secure McKenna a unification, he could likely sidestep Jones or, if there is no money in the fight, maybe the Irishman would relinquish without defending the title. While unlikely, stranger things have happened.

CHRIS EUBANK JR (35-4, 25 KOs) This one might seem completely unrealistic but McKenna has already talked up the chances of facing the 36-year-old. There is family history in Ireland already given his father Chris Sr fought in world title fights against Steve Collins in Millstreet and Cork during 1995, losing both.

But McKenna would be willing to give Eubank Jr the opportunity to make it third time lucky for his family. Despite his worryingly bad performance against Conor Benn in November, Eubank Jr remains one of the biggest money fights available for McKenna but it is unclear whether he would be able to make middleweight safely again.

CARLOS ADAMES (25-1-1, 18 KOs) McKenna has made no secret of his desire to become Ireland’s first Ring Magazine champion and any path to that belt would likely go through 32-year-old Adames, who is No. 1 in the rankings at the time of writing.

The Dominican has not been the most active over the past two years, with his draw against Hamzah Sheeraz and a March decision victory over Austin Williams his only outings since June 2024. The pair have sparred many rounds and McKenna believes Adames is running scared as a result. There’s only one way to find out. ERISLANDY LARA (32-3-3, 19 KOs) At 43 years old, stylish southpaw Lara is still a major player in the division and most recently defended his WBA title with a one-sided points victory over Johan Gonzalez as part of a PBC show. At present, this seems like the least attractive and likely of the available 160-pound unifications. It is unclear how a cross promotional unification involving McKenna and Lara would even work but big money would likely get it over the line as it usually does. DENZEL BENTLEY (22-3-1, 18 KOs) Having been upgraded from interim to full WBO champion, London puncher Bentley is currently on the lookout for the first defense of his title.

The long-time Queensberry Promotions fighter will almost certainly make a routine defense before attentions turn to unifications with McKenna or anybody else but you never know. McKenna-Bentley, Bentley-McKenna in an England v Ireland two-belt unification would do great business in Dublin or London. CALLUM WALSH (17-0, 11 KOs) Should Zuffa look to keep things in-house they might just turn to McKenna’s compatriot Walsh, who beat Tyler Denny on points on the undercard Saturday night. The Corkman, 25, is rising steadily through the middleweight rankings and happens to hold his highest rating with the IBF sitting eighth.

If they did fight for McKenna’s IBF title, it would also represent the first world title fight ever between two fighters from the Republic of Ireland, but that distinction would not be enough to allow McKenna to avoid his mandatory. HAMZAH SHEERAZ (24-0-1, 19 KOs) McKenna said that he would have no trouble jumping up to 168 pounds should he fail to secure the sort of fights he wants at middleweight. But, with Canelo Alvarez and Christian Mbilli preparing to fight each other in October, there are not many big names available. One man who would be is WBO super middleweight champion Sheeraz, 27, who is free having beaten Simon Zachenhuber last month. It would be some statement from McKenna to step straight up and fight a puncher of Sheeraz’s class but he would not hesitate to accept the fight if offered.

CONOR MCGREGOR (0-1) Footage from 2018 has recently resurfaced of a teenage McKenna calling out McGregor for an Irish title fight but now he has the middleweight world title, the MMA icon might just fancy a tear-up. During an interview in June, McKenna told The Ring: “You never know what fights can happen like these crossover fights. These big fantasy match-ups.

“You had Usyk recently there with Rico. A very close fight. His Excellency, Turki [Alalshikh] put that fight together and definitely proved it's a good model for boxing. It was a close fight. He was doing very well until he got stopped. Tyson Fury and Ngannou, that was a very close fight and, Conor McGregor, he's back. Conor McGregor, if he got the opportunity to fight for the middleweight world title, I couldn't see him turning it down. That's a massive fight to have in Ireland.”