Etinosa Oliha-Aaron McKenna ordered for vacant IBF middleweight title
- Jake Donovan
- 8 minutes ago
- 3 min read
By Jake Donovan
03/31/2026
Aaron McKenna was the greatest benefactor from this past weekend’s middleweight shakeup.
Brunch Boxing has confirmed that the 6’1” middleweight is now next in line to face Italy’s Etinosa Oliha for the vacant IBF middleweight title. The sanctioning body instructed both sides on Monday to enter a 30-day negotiation period, after which time the matter will head to a purse bid hearing.
“Be advised that #2 rated Etinosa Oliha and #4 rated Aaron McKenna are the two highest ranked available contenders in the IBF Middleweight division,” IBF Championships Chairman George Martinez instructed both parties in a ruling obtained by Brunch Boxing. “Both have confirmed in writing their willingness to participate in about for the vacant title. Accordingly, the IBF is ordering a contest between these two contenders to determine the Champion in the division.”
Italy’s Oliha, 22-0 (10 KOs) is promoted by AGON Sports, while England’s Thompson, 20-0 (10 KOs) is managed by Mike Borao. The winner will claim the title that was stripped from Kazakhstan’s Janibek Alimkhaniuly, 17-0 (12 KOs) due to issued suspensions after he tested positive for the banned substance Meldonium. The unbeaten southpaw was issued one-year suspensions by both the IBF and WBO, which left him unavailable to satisfy his next IBFmandatory title defense by July.
McKenna – a Los Angeles-based Irish boxer – entered the mix shortly after previously ordered contender Shakiel Thompson was literally knocked out of contention. England’s Thompson was well ahead through eight rounds versus Brad Pauls, who rallied to twice floor his countryman en route to a dramatic 9th round knockout this past Saturday in Manchester, England.
Thompson and Oliha were ordered to fight for the vacant IBF title on March 12, though it is unclear if negotiations ever advanced given Thompson’s prior commitment.
Nevertheless, the opportunity kicked the door wide open for McKenna, as the next highest ranked contender. The timing was perfect for the 26-year-old ‘Silencer’, who was coming up on one year since his April 2025 unanimous decision victory over former WBO 154-pound titlist Liam Smith on the Chris Eubank Jr.-Conor Benn I undercard in North London.
Oliha has remained in the mix as the IBF’s highest-rated contender. He was previously due to face Austin “Ammo” Williams in a title eliminator last July 19 at the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys practice facility in Frisco, Texas. However, he was pulled from the DAZN event when the Texas commission refused to issue him a license based on the results of a pre-fight eye exam.
The fallout came just months after Oliha believed to have an established fight with Kyrone Davis with the same stakes. The two sides agreed to terms for their eliminator to have taken place last spring in Italy.
Davis’ side had second thoughts about traveling abroad and instead decided to fight stateside on a Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) on Prime Video card in Las Vegas. Davis ultimately suffered a 10-round shutout loss to unbeaten Yoenli Hernandez.
At that point, Oliha moved on to Williams before he ran into the aforementioned medical issue, which was quickly resolved – just not in time to go through with the fight. He eventually made his way back to the ring for a 3rd round knockout victory in a walkover fight last September 12 in Berlin.
He now comes out of it with a title shot even after two missed opportunities for a final eliminator.
IBF rules 5(c) and 9 (c) and (d) prohibit participants from entering other fights once committed to the process for an ordered title fight or eliminator. Failure to comply with such terms will result in the offending boxer being removed from the IBF top 10 and ineligible to participate in bouts sanctioned by the organization for a minimum of six months.