Paddy Donovan vs Tyrone McKenna Preview September 5th, 2026
The Republic of Ireland’s Paddy Donovan battles it out with Tyrone McKenna of Northern Ireland in Dublin, this Saturday, September 5th. The 10-round welterweight clash takes place at Croke Park on the undercard of the Katie Taylor vs Flora Pili fight and can be seen live on DAZN in most nations. Donovan last fought in May when he beat Karen Chukhadzhian via a 12-round majority decision after dropping him in the sixth and eighth rounds. In his previous outing last September he lost a split decision to Lewis Crocker in a rematch for the vacant IBF Welterweight Title. The two first met six months earlier with Donovan being controversially disqualified after the eighth round for hitting and dropping Crocker after the bell. Donovan was also deducted a point in the sixth and eighth rounds for head butting but was comfortably ahead on all three scorecards when the fight was stopped. McKenna last saw action a year ago when he stopped Dylan Moran in the seventh round.
Donovan vs McKenna Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Tyrone McKenna +910
- Paddy Donovan -2500
My Pick
Donovan is a 27-year-old southpaw who climbs into the ring with a mark of 15-2 with 11 Ko’s. He’s boxed 95 rounds since turning pro in 2019 and has quite a bit of power in his attack as 73.3 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage including five of his last six. Donovan had an extensive amateur career and fought at the 2016 World Youth Championships and won several national championships in the Republic of Ireland. His lone pro defeats were the disqualification and split decision losses to Crocker last year.
Donovan, who resides in Limerick, also has wins over Jose Luis Castillo, Danny Ball, Tom Hill and Lewis Ritson. He measures 5-feet-9-inches tall but unfortunately has an unlisted reach. He was dominating Crocker in their first fight but can only blame himself for the disqualification for his tactics. He then looked flat in the rematch to Crocker but was at his best in the surprising rebound win over Chukhadzhian. However a third consecutive defeat could have been devastating to his confidence and career. .
The 36-year-old McKenna of Belfast is also a southpaw and makes the ring walk with a mark of 25-6-1 with 8 Ko’s. He’s quite tall for the 147 lb welterweight division at 6-feet-1-inch and is four inches taller than Donovan but unfortunately his reach is also unlisted. He made his pro debut back in 2012 after a considerable amateur career in which he lost to Carl Frampton, and has now fought 206 rounds as a pro. McKenna doesn’t carry much power in his punches as just 32 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage including his last two, which were both against Dylan Moran.
His first KO over Moran in December, 2024 was the first time he halted an opponent in 15 outings. McKenna’s first pro loss didn’t come until 2018 when he dropped a 10-round unanimous decision to Jack Catterall in a shot at the WBO Inter-Continental Super Lightweight Title. He was dropped in the second and fifth rounds while Catterall was deducted a point for hitting him while he was down. His second defeat came in 2020 at the hands of Ohara Davies when he was edged via a 10-round majority decision. He lost his WBC International Super Lightweight Belt which he won against Darragh Foley by 10-round unanimous decision and defended twice.
McKenna was then in over his head against Regis Prograis in 2022 as he was dropped in the second round and stopped in the sixth. He dropped a 10-round unanimous decision to Lewis Crocker in 2023 and was halted in the fifth round by Mohamed Mimoune in his next contest in August, 2024. His last defeat was a 10th-round TKO by Harlem Eubank in a shot at the vacant IBF Intercontinental Welterweight bout. The lone draw on McKenna’s record is a six-round affair with Arvydas Trizno in 2016. His biggest wins have been against Jose Felix, Anthony Upton and Chris Jenkins but he’s 4-5 in his last nine fights.
Prediction…
Donovan is perhaps a world-class boxer while McKenna is domestic/European level. Donovan possesses far more power and McKenna has been stopped in three of his six losses. McKenna has the height and skills to keep things close for a few rounds but I think he’ll eventually get caught and stopped or lose rather handily by decision.
Donovan’s power and chin should be the difference.
Play Donovan -2500 @ BetOnline.ag
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Paddy Donovan betting • Tyrone McKenna betting