The 27-year-old McKenna completely outboxed previously undefeated Etinosa Oliha to claim the vacant IBF middleweight title with a lopsided victory at 3Arena in the Irish capital. Judge Colin Byrne had it widest at 118-110, while Marco Marzuoli (117-111) and Pawel Kardyni (116-112) scored it slightly closer, although both of those cards were kind to the defeated man.

Regardless, McKenna joined Nonpareil Jack Dempsey, Steve Collins and Andy Lee as 160-pounds champions from the Emerald Isle. Collins, a ringside guest, and Lee, who was on commentary duty for Sky Sports, both applauded as his hand was raised.

“Once a world champion, always a world champion,” Lee beamed.

The IBF strap had been vacant since former champion Janibek Alimkhanuly was stripped following a failed VADA test which prevented him from fulfilling his mandatory obligation. That meant the undefeated pair of Oliha (22-1, 10 KOs) and McKenna (21-0, 10 KOs), ranked by the IBF at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, were ordered to meet for the vacant championship.

Before the first bell, McKenna was rated No. 6 by The Ring, one spot behind Oliha.

Monaghan-born McKenna, 16 months on from his last outing when he outpointed Liam Smith in London, received a home advantage of sorts by Zuffa Boxing, which opted to stage this clash at 3Arena. However, given he upped sticks to train in America as a teen, this was actually McKenna’s first professional fight on Irish soil.

Supportive Irish fans still responded by packing the venue, around 80 miles south of McKenna’s hometown, to the rafters. They whipped up a frenzied atmosphere as he was introduced, while Italian visitor Oliha was roundly booed.

McKenna went off as 4-1 favorite and claimed an uneventful first round pretty easily from behind his jab and the occasional long left hook. But OIiha, who had landed nothing in the first, got through with a pair of right hooks in the final minute of the second round which gave McKenna something to think about.

Neither fighter had truly settled, however, and there was little to choose between them through the third and fourth. But McKenna began to dominate the jab exchanges once again at the start of the fifth, which meant Oliha was falling short with the right hand he regularly attempted to land.

On the undercard, McKenna’s brother, Stevie, won with a “Knockout of the Year” contender in the very first round. It became obvious pretty quickly that this main event would go the full distance.

While it was not eye-catching work, McKenna had built up a healthy lead by the halfway point of the fight. The Irishman was routinely beating Oliha to the punch and then stepping close to prevent his opponent from countering.

Oliha was making every minute competitive, but he was incapable of changing the pattern of the fight whatsoever. As such, he was slipping further behind on the cards with every passing round as McKenna simply outboxed him.

Given his lead, it was a simple case of maintaining concentration for McKenna, nicknamed “Silencer” due to his propensity for letting his fighting do the talking. Oliha, who could surely sense the fight slipping away, did attempt to raise the pace in the final two rounds, but McKenna did not put a foot wrong.

There would be no fairytale comeback for the Italian while McKenna’s place in the pantheon of Irish world champions is now secure.