The rap god saw the potential.
Aaron McKenna moved to 6-0 as a professional when the Monaghan prospect stopped an opponent for the fourth time back in 2018.
McKenna was tasked with taking on Abel Reyes, who was 4-1 going into the bout, at Fantasy Springs Casino in California.
And while the Irishman was likely looking to get some rounds under his belt, he wasn’t going to turn down the opportunity once the finish presented itself.
A brutal body shot in the opening round sent Reyes to the canvas and while the Mexican gamely carried on, McKenna returned to the midsection with a bruising left hook which proved too much for Reyes in the second.
A fortnight previously, rap-legend Kendrick Lamar had seen McKenna and his brother Stevie sparring. Fast forward two weeks and Lamar drove around four hours to see Aaron defeat Reyes, popping into the dressing both before and after the fight.
In a story told by The42’s Gavan Casey, the brother’s father and trainer, Fergal, did not know who Lamar was and told him to ‘piss off’, before his sons stepped him.
Lamar had obviously seen a lot of potential in the Monaghan man, and boy was he right.
Nearly seven years later and McKenna is coming off the back of the biggest win of his career, dominating former world champion Liam Smith on the undercard of Chris Eubank Jr vs Conor Benn, at the magnificent Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London.
