Jeovanny Estela believes opening bout with Aaron McKenna could determine Prizefighter winner

Jeovanny Estela is making a strategic move up to middleweight to compete in the Prizefighter tournament, and he is eyeing the million-dollar winning prize. His first challenge on Monday is against Aaron McKenna, a bout that Estela believes could determine the tournament’s outcome.

The fighters will compete in the quarterfinals at the Yamato Arena in Suita, Osaka. Like Estela, McKenna also started his career at welterweight before gradually moving up to middleweight.

Estela (14-0, 5 KOs), 23, from Orlando, turned professional in 2020 at 147 pounds. Due to his large frame, he quickly transitioned to junior middleweight. In 2023, he fought four times, securing three wins in eight-round bouts. His fight against McKenna (18-0, 9 KOs), 24, from Smithborough, Ireland, will be his first 10-round match.

“I think the person who wins this fight is the favorite in the tournament,” Estela said.

McKenna turned professional in December 2017 and moved up to middleweight in 2020 after the pandemic. He has fought only once this year, stopping Mickey Ellison in six rounds in January. Previously, he won a unanimous decision over then-unbeaten Uisma Lima.

“Aaron controls his distance very well. He is a very good volume puncher and applies a lot of pressure,” Estela said. “He’s around 6-foot-2, 6-foot-3. I’m about 6-foot, 6-foot-1, so I think this is going to be a battle of the giants.”

Officially, McKenna is listed as 6-foot-1 on his BoxRec profile page.

“I see him as a very similar type of fighter in that we’re both undefeated, we’re both very hungry, and we’re both taking this opportunity and going to be putting our all into it,” Estela said. “We both want to win this whole tournament. We’re not just thinking about this fight. We have to get past each other before we get to the million dollars.”

For this fight, Estela has added Cuban boxing coach Jorge Rubio to his training team.

“Camp has been good. I started my camp down in Orlando, as I normally do with my father,” Estela said. “Then we came over to Miami to get sparring. We went over to the U.K. I’m over here training with Jorge Rubio in Miami, and we got some good sparring over here with some pros as well.”

Lucas Ketelle is a proud member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and author of “Inside The Ropes of Boxing” (available on Amazon). Contact him on X @LukieBoxing.